12 Days of Christmas
by OasisSerenity
Summary: DAY 12: "Because every couple does it," smiled Ino. "So just because we are going we have to do it?" questioned Shikamaru. "No, it's because I just want to spend time with you," confessed Ino. ShikaIno ShikmaruXIno AU
1. Chapter 1: Realization

**Summary: **It's that time of the year! Sometimes it brings out the best of us and sometimes it brings out the worst. But in the end, if there's one thing it shows in all of us, it would be the Christmas Spirit.

**Pairings:** None in this chapter, but ShikaIno by the end.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own.

* * *

Chapter 1: Realization

"Yay it's Christmas!" exclaimed Ino, running down the stairs being greeted by a large Christmas tree filled with gifts.

"Merry Christmas honey," said Inoichi, giving his daughter a hug.

"Merry Christmas daddy!" Ino said back happily. "So which one is my gift?"

"Well which one do you think is your gift? Go ahead and open any of them," Inoichi told her.

Ino went for the box that was covered with purple wrapping. Quickly she opened it and her eyes widen," O. M. G! The latest new Chanel purse! This is so awesome!"

She opened the purse and the lock came off.

"W-what? This is a fake!" shouted Ino, extremely mad that the purse wasn't real. Then she went to open the next gift.

She opened the next present and there were bracelets and necklaces, "Oh these are really pretty! Definitely my style."

Ino forgot about how mad she was with the purse and was glad that she got something nice. Then she saw on her wrist the same bracelet she just received, "Wait, I have this bracelet and this necklace too! I have all this already!"

Ino continued to open gifts and she kept on getting presents containing things that she had, things that were fake, and last year items.

"Ugh! This is so unfair, not one present was good. This last one better be the best of them all," said Ino, extremely mad opening the last gift.

Unwrapping the wrapping paper and taking out all the tissue paper she went from extremely mad to beyond the exosphere mad, "Books?! Who on earth gives books as a gift? This is the worst! What sick minded child reads? AAAAHHH!"

"AAHH!" Ino screamed waking up from her nightmare. "Oh gosh that was horrible!"

She got out of bed and ran to to her closet. She grabbed her purse and hugged it to her chest, "Oh my baby, you're still alright."

Ino got ready for school and realized that it was the last day of classes and it was Christmas break.

She quickly got dressed for school and went downstairs for breakfast. She made a bowl of oatmeal but was only able to finish a little bit. The rest she threw away. Then Ino got a plum and ate quickly before she left to school.

On her way to school, she picked up Sakura Haruno, her best friend since they were young girls. Both of them were two peas in a pod and very much alike.

"Hey girl! Doing anything special after school today?" Ino asked Sakura.

"Nothing that I could recall, why?" wondered Sakura.

"I want to go to the mall after school," answered Ino.

"What? We just went yesterday, besides, doesn't your dad want you to look after the flower shop today?" mentioned Sakura.

"Oh yeah I forgot about that," said Ino, thinking of a way she could still go to the mall. "Okay, how about after I finish looking after the shop we go?"

"By then the mall would be closed," Sakura pointed out.

"Ah shoot! Well then, we could just go shopping down the streets and see if any vendors have nice stuff," said Ino, desperately wanting to go shopping.

"Haha, alright then, street shopping it is! It'll do for now," said Sakura as the two girls drove to school.

* * *

"Thank you for choosing Yamanaka Flowers! Goodbye, merry Christmas!" Ino bid farewell to a customer.

"Well, it's 7 already, time for the store to close," Sakura told Ino. "And it's time to get our shopping shoes on; we got a lot of walking to do!"

"Finally! I never thought this day would come to an end. Now I could enjoy myself," said Ino, grabbing her purse and closing up the store.

The two girls went outside and started to walk until they came to the heart of the city.

It was beautiful, there were so many different colour lights illuminating the mighty sky. All the Christmas decoration was set up; along with the colossal Christmas tree in the center which everyone seemed to adore. There were so many entertainers, from carollers to musicians to skaters. But of course, the one Ino loved the most were those that were selling merchandises.

"Oh look over there! Someone is selling jewelry!" pointed out Sakura.

Both walked over with their arms linked and started to browse through.

"See anything you like ladies?" asked the man selling the jewelry.

"Ah yes, all are very exquisite. Oh, this is really unique," said Ino, picking up a really plain steel bracelet.

"Yes, nothing like your usual bracelet. This is a kara bracelet. Usually you would find someone who is Sikh wears this. But to a non-Sikh, it represents the totality of God and an endless cycle," the salesman told Ino about the precious accessory.

"Wow..." said Ino, admiring the kara bracelt.

"Ino, I think you should get it," Sakura encouraged Ino.

"You know what, I will," Ino agreed, and she paid the man for the bracelet.

The two girls continued to shop around the area, buying all sorts of clothes, accessories, and anything they found nice.

Soon, they got exhausted from walking so much and carrying 12 bags each. Finally, they decided to go home.

* * *

"Bye Sakura, happy holidays! Tell your parents I said hi to them," Ino said to Sakura before she entered her house. She went inside and saw her dad sitting on the living room couch.

"Where were you for two hours? You realized that you missed dinner the second day in the row," Inoichi scowled her for her tardiness and absence.

"I was shopping with Sakura," Ino told him.

"Again?! Ino, you can't be shopping all the time, you just went yesterday. And you can't miss dinner because you want to shop," Inoichi said to Ino, being upset with her.

"But this was just a one time thing, there will still be plenty more dinners," Ino shrugged her shoulders.

"That's what you said yesterday, yet you let it happen again. Ino, how much do I have to emphasis how important it is to have family dinners? Not many people get the opportunity to eat with their family," pointed out Inoichi.

"Well that's there problem, not ours," Ino answered back, not caring about what is being told to her.

"Was that necessary?" Inoichi shook his head. "Maybe it may not be our problem, but you never know what another person is going through."

"So why should I care? They have nothing to do with me," Ino opposed, still not giving a care.

"You never know who those people may be, they could be someone you work with in the future or even your friend. You could be a help in their lives," Inoichi said. "I am not pleased with your attitude. Do you just care about yourself?"

"No of course not, I care about others," answered Ino.

"Then did you get anything for me when you went shopping?" asked Inoichi.

"No..." responded Ino.

"Then did you start your Christmas shopping for others?" Inoichi continued to question her.

"No..." Ino said again.

"See, Ino I hate to say this, but as your father I must set this straight to you, you must stop being so greedy, it's not healthy for you," confidently Inoichi told her. "If you don't get your act straight, our family could tear apart in the future and people will stop liking you. And because of your greed, people will stop loosing trust and stop being nice to you."

"Fine dad, I won't be selfish anymore," Ino said, hoping he would trust her with what she said and she would continue with her life.

"I'm glad to hear that, but you must put where your money where your mouth is," Inoichi said, knowing Ino wouldn't suddenly stop being selfish. "Show me that you are not selfish and greedy, then I'll believe you that your won't be it anymore. Now, go clean up and have your dinner."

Ino went to her room to keep all the shopping bags and get ready for dinner, "If he wants me to be selfless, then I'll be selfless!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I honestly couldn't wait until this time came. This idea came to me from such a long time ago! I love ShikaIno and I think those two fit perfectly for this story.**

**Everyday I'll be updating this story up to Christmas Day, so be prepared for a lot of reading.**

**I hope you really like this! Review! **


	2. Chapter 2: Day 1

**Summary:** It's time to prove you're not selfish! But how?...

**Pairings: **Start of ShikaIno friendship.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own

* * *

Chapter 2: Day 1

_On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree._

"I know that I'm not selfish! I don't care what daddy says, I know what I am and what I am not! But if he's convinced that I'm greedy, I'll show him! I'll help out with those ugly, poor, and badly fashioned people!" Ino told herself.

If Ino wasn't at school or at the flower shop, she could be found at the mall.

She was shopping again, but she convinced herself that she wasn't being selfish. Shopping meant spending money and helping businesses, so by doing this she was helping many companies. But at the time, the items she shopped for were clothes. This helped others by showing them what's in fashion. Ino was proud, by shopping she was helping others in so many ways!

As she walked around, she saw a store with the sign in front that said: Volunteers needed for wrapping Christmas presents! Donated gifts are acceptable! Spread the Christmas spirit!

Ino got curious and went inside the store to see what was happening. Two people, a man and a woman came up to her all cheery.

"Oh look, another volunteer! And she even brought some new unwrapped presents," said the lady.

"How generous indeed. We'll take those, thank you," said the man, taking all of Ino's shopping bags.

"Wh-wait!" stuttered Ino, wondering why they took her items.

"Oh don't worry, there are other teenagers here," said the gentleman, then he left with Ino's stuff and brought it to another room.

"Here come with me, I'll bring you to where all the volunteers are," said the lady bringing Ino to another room. "This is where all the gift wrapping happens. I assume that you don't want to hang out with adults."

_I don't even want to hang out with any of you _thought Ino, but she smiled to the woman pretending to agree with her.

"So I'll put you with all the youngster," said the lady, pointing to where the teenagers are. "Okay now you may start wrapping gifts!"

Ino went to the other teenagers and looked around like a lost puppy. Then she sat beside a boy who was wrapping a present by himself.

"Why are you all alone?" Ino asked the boy.

"I'm not, you're here," replied the boy. "Why aren't you with the other rich kids?"

"Please, like any rich kid would go into this place," answered Ino.

"You see that girl with the bluish-purple hair? The one that has her back to you," he said, pointing to girl not too far from them.

"Is that Hinata Hyuga?!" questioned Ino.

"Yeah, she loves to help. It's something she likes to do in her past time," confirmed the boy.

"Oh," understood Ino, then she held out her hand in front of the boy. "By the way, I'm Ino Yamanaka."

He didn't acknowledge her hand and only scoffed to himself.

"You know it courtesy to introduce yourself back and shake the other person's hand in return," Ino pointed out.

"I already know who you are," said the boy.

"But I don't know who you are," said Ino, still waiting for his name.

"Why am I not surprised?" he chuckled to himself quietly.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Ino wondered.

"It means that all you notice is yourself. I'm surprised that you even know who your family and best friend is. I go to the same school as you, we've gone to school together since kindergarten. Even our dads are really close, yet you still do not know who I am," explained the boy.

"Okay...so aren't you going to tell me what your name is?" asked Ino.

He sighed and shook his head knowing it was useless to get this information through her thick skull, "My name is Shikamaru Nara. Does it ring a bell?"

"Oh you're the smart and lazy guy that always hangs out with that fat guy," Ino remembered who he was.

"I advise you not to call him that, he gets real angry when someone says that to him," warned Shikamaru.

"Wait, what are you doing here, I thought you were lazy," Ino pointed out.

"True, I love wrapping presents," Shikamaru admitted.

"That's a lame hobby. We need to get you a new one," said Ino.

"You'd be surprised how much skill it requires. Here, try wrapping this," said Shikamaru, giving her a toy to wrap.

"That's not in a box or shaped like one," Ino said, not wanting to wrap it.

Shikamaru scoffed, "Amateur." Then he gave her another toy that was in a box.

"Alrighty then, I'll show you that this requires no skills!" Ino said confidently.

After 36 minutes...

"Are you done? You've been working on it for over a half hour," asked Shikamaru, getting really impatient.

"Stop distracting me, I'm almost done!" Ino said. "No, I didn't cut enough paper! Now there's a section that's not wrapped," Ino sighed unhappily.

"That's just sad," Shikamaru shook his head in disappointment. "I have to take all this off and start all over. And I have to teach you how to properly do this."

"But all my hard work!" complained Ino. "Maybe we could cut a small strip and cover the remaining area?"

"I wouldn't even call this hard work. Like I said before, it's just sad; sad work. And there is no way I'm going to let you do that. A child is going to get this and part of reason of getting a present is to unwrap it. That's where most of the fun comes from and to do that, well, it's going to take the fun out of it," Shikamaru opposed.

"Fine, take it all of," Ino gave up.

He took it all off and threw it into the garbage, "Okay, go get me a roll of wrapping paper."

After looking through all of it, Ino came one that she liked the most, "I like this one and I found it the most interesting."

"Ah, a partridge in a pear tree," remarked Shikamaru.

"Haha, stop kidding around," Ino faked laughed.

"Do I look like I would be joking?" inquired Shikamaru. "That's a partridge in a pear tree."

"That's so cool, I hope I could see one in real life," she said, amazed that it was actually a partridge in a pear tree.

"You never know what life has in store for you," said Shikamaru. "Now Miss. Popular, listen up on Wrapping Presents 101. Not only doing this brings satisfaction, but like said before, there are a lot of skills. You need precision, good estimation, patience, good folding, and of course awesome cutting skills."

"Okay, I don't think it takes such great skills to do this job," responded Ino, not believing him.

"Did you not see how you wrapped?" he rhetorically asked. "You lacked in estimation, not having enough paper to wrap it. Which also means you have bad precision. You folded the edges poorly, leaving the gift not wrapped tightly. And you even cut it weird, it's not even straight!"

"Fine, but at least you could say I had patience, right?" asked Ino.

"Sure, if it makes you happy," answered Shikamaru. "Now listen carefully, each step I tell you contributes a great deal to this."

"Okay," agreed Ino.

"To estimate how much paper is needed, wrap the gift around so that it covers it at least once, then you'll add some extra paper so you do not have to worry of having not enough," he thoroughly explained each step. "Then fold it nicely, to mark where you are stopping. To cut it off, turn the paper the other side, the white side to cut it. Follow the fold you imprinted. If you are doing it by estimation and you didn't make a fold, by cutting on this side, you will have a better chance on cutting straight. Sometimes by following the design, it could mess you up."

"Oh that makes more sense," Ino nodded her head.

"Good, it should. After, turn the gift upside down to wrap it around. This will make sure that whoever opens it, especially the kids, will end up having it not upside down," Shikamaru continued to teach her. "Now, when you wrap it around, with the horizontal side fold it slightly so you don't see the awful cutting you did. Then tape it into place."

Ino followed him, nodding her head when she understood and asking questions when she didn't.

"On the sides, fold the corners in to create a triangle at the top and bottom. Fold the bottom up and fold the top above it and tape it into place. After you finish you could add a bow or ribbon or whatever you desire that will make it look nicer. You understand?" asked Shikamaru after he finished explaining how to wrap a gift.

"Yeah I think so," Ino nodded her head.

"Okay, now wrap your present and let's see how much you have improved," said Shikamaru, throwing a children's toy at her.

After 20 minutes...

"Hmm, not bad. You did better than what you did the first time and better than what I expected," Shikamaru said as he observed the toy she wrapped. "Now wrap another one, practice makes perfect."

"But no one can be perfect," pointed out Ino.

"Fine, practice makes close to perfection," sighed Shikamaru.

Ino went to wrap a second present and as she was doing this, Shikamaru also wrapped one. Ino watched carefully as he wrapped his, the way he moved his hands that contributed to each fold. It was so neat. It was definitely perfect, and just a second ago she said nothing could be perfect. It was a beauty, it was art.

Ino noticed he did something different than the way he showed her. Instead of keeping it simple, he included an extra fold. She couldn't explain how Shikamaru did it, but she liked it. She continued to watch him as she finished with her current present.

When she finessed, the next present Ino tried to wrap it like how Shikamaru did. She got it to be similar, but it wasn't as good as his.

"Monkey see, monkey do right?" smirked Shikamaru, knowing what Ino was doing.

"Haha I guess," smiled Ino. "But that was really nice, I could see why you like wrapping presents.

"So monkey," said Shikamaru, giving her a nickname. "Let's see how you did."

"Don't call me that!" whined Ino, not liking her new name.

"Why? You act like one," explained Shikamaru.

"Don't call me monkey! It's so ugly," insisted Ino.

"Fine, would you like me to call you pig? Or rather boar since your name literally translate to boar?" teased Shikamaru.

"Definitely not that!" snapped Ino. "Would you like to call you deer?"

"I don't mind, it doesn't affect me at all," Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders.

Just before Ino could respond to that, one of the leaders came into the room, "The mall is going to close very soon, we have accomplished so much today! Thank you to all the volunteers, you did a wonderful job. You may go home now!"

"Yay! I could go home and take a nice hot shower and sleep peacefully," announced Ino.

"You're such a princess. How much pampering do you need?" Shikamaru shook his head.

"I don't need that much pampering!" complained Ino. "Are you walking home?"

"Yeah, I live nearby, just pass our school," said Shikamaru.

"I'll walk with you, my house is on the way," said Ino.

* * *

"Well here's my stop," said Ino, stopping in front of her house.

"Do you want to do some more volunteering tomorrow?" asked Shikamaru.

Ino shrugged her shoulders, "That depends where."

"It's decorating the Christmas tree in the community centre. As I could see from your house, it's very festive and your family must really love Christmas," observed Shikamaru.

"Aha yes, I grew up with Christmas being the biggest holiday. You know some of the things I decorated myself," mentioned Ino.

"Really now? Which one?" asked Shikamaru.

"The trees," responded Ino.

"Then tomorrow's job should be a breeze for you," negotiated Shikamaru.

"That is I'd I agree to do it," pointed out Ino.

"Well do you?" questioned Shikamaru.

"Of course, I could never miss out in decorating just like you could never miss out in wrapping a present," Ino told him.

"Nice analogy, and I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Bye,"smirked Shikamaru.

"Okay goodbye!" Ino bid farewell and she entered her home.

"Where were you?" Inoichi quickly asked her.

"At the mall," answered Ino.

"Again, how many times do I need to repeat myself for you to remember?" Inoichi said, getting slightly mad.

"Daddy, I didn't go for shopping, I don't even have any bags with me," Ino told him before he got any more mad."I was volunteering, I was wrapping Christmas presents. That boy-"

"What boy?" Inoichi responded, activating his overly protective father side.

"Don't worry, you know him, it's Shikamaru," Ino assured her father.

"Shikamaru Nara?" asked Inoichi.

"Yup!" confirmed Ino.

"Oh, well then he's a fine boy. Very intelligent as well. He's a suitable young man, I approve," said Inoichi.

"Daddy! I wasn't asking your approval for him to be my boyfriend, we're just friends! That's just weird, I just met him today," said Ino getting disgusted.

"Fine honey, but still, he has my approval," said Inoichi, smiling at his daughter. "And I'm proud of you for volunteering."

"Thanks daddy!" Ino smiled back.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Haha! Second chapter done! How was it?  
As you can see, each day is going to follow the 12 Days of Christmas. Okay, review and give your ideas on what Shikamaru and Ino can do for each day and how they can encounter what the lyric says.**

**Thanks for reading! Review! **


	3. Chapter 3: Day 2

**Summary: "**Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches. In the summer sun or winter snow, a coat of green you always show. Oh Christmas tree oh Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches."

**Pairings:** ShikaIno friendship

**Disclaimer:** I do not own.

* * *

Chapter 3: Day 2

_On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree._

"Where's the lazy Shikamaru?" said a ticked off Ino. She walked around the community centre trying to look for the pineapple head. "He's partially the reason why I'm here. He was the one who wanted to volunteer here! Where is he? He's late! He abandon me to decorate the largest tree in the universe alone!"

Ino continued to pace around the community centre and rant to herself.

"Oy monkey! Miss me?" shouted Shikamaru, teasing Ino to change her mood.

"I told you not to call me that!" Ino said in frustration.

Shikamaru smirked, "I know."

"I need all the volunteers who are going to help decorate the community centre!" yelled a woman, trying to grab all their attentions.

Shortly and slowly, all the volunteers came together.

"I'd like to start of by thanking all of you for coming here today to help. Christmas is more than just the presents as I assume that you all probably know, but it's about giving and lending a helping hand. Your generosity means so much to me," the lady said showing her gratitude. "As for the decorations, I need half of the volunteers to decorate around the area and the other half to work on the Christmas tree."

Everyone then dispersed to the job they wished. Shikamaru and Ino went to work on the Christmas tree along with other volunteers.

"Since you are doing this, you must also make sure that the turtle dove ornaments are at the bottom of the tree so that everyone has access to it," instructed the lady.

"Let's just start putting up the ornaments anywhere. Make sure that it is balances," said a random boy taking the lead.

"We can't do that! Otherwise when we put the turtle doves it will be too crowded at the bottom," opposed Ino.

"Who said you could tell me what to do?" asked the boy, offended my Ino's remark.

"And who said that you could tell us what to do?" Ino questioned back.

"I don't need anyone to tell me. I just have the authority," answered the boy.

"What authority?" asked Ino.

"I'm a boy and you're just a girl," responded the sexist boy.

"Just a girl? Let me tell you something buddy. I am the leader for so many clubs at school that you don't have enough fingers and toes to keep track. I'm also the Secretary in the student council. You know why? I had to step down from being President just so I could keep up with all my extra-curricular activities," Ino yelled at the boy. "Besides school, I have dance and swimming. I'm a certified life guard and one of the older students in my dance class so I also teach it to the younger ones. Do you know what that makes me? More than just a girl; and definitely a person with more authority than you!"

"But in the end it doesn't matter, you are still just a girl," the boy just shrugged his shoulders not giving a care in the world.

"Oh you want to go!" Ino shouted, launching herself to the guy ready to attack him. But to her dismay, Shikamaru came in between them and held Ino back.

"Move Shikamaru! Let me beat this idiot up and give him a piece of my mind!" Ino shouted, trying to push him out of the way.

"Troublesome woman. Let me handle this," said Shikamaru.

"Fine..." huffed Ino.

"See what I mean, you can't even follow what you said. You need your boyfriend to do your work," the boy pointed out.

"He's not my boyfriend!" screamed Ino.

"Geez I get it, don't need to yell. It's not attractive you know," said the boy.

"Okay I think you've said enough," Shikamaru interrupted and he dragged the boy away to talk to him.

When the two came back, everyone else was putting up the decorations with Ino as their leader.

"You okay?" Shikamaru asked Ino in concern.

"Yeah I'm fine," answered Ino. "How did the talk go?"

"He somewhat listened to me. Though I won't be surprised if he tried to say something stupid again. He's just another cocky teenager, so there's no reason for you to throw a cow," mentioned Shikamaru.

"But I was just expressing my opinion until he went all sexist on me!" stated Ino.

"True, but that was still infantile of you to attack him," responded Shikamaru.

"I didn't attack him!" said Ino.

"That was only because I stopped you," he reminded her.

"And he would have been beaten to the pulp if you haven't," Ino pointed out.

Shikamaru sighed, "Whatever, let's just decorate."

They continued to decorate the Christmas tree until it became dark outside.

"Shikamaru?" Ino called out.

"Mhm," he let her know he had his attention to her.

"What are the turtle doves for?" she asked out of curiosity.

"It's for this thing the community centre does for the less fortunate kids. When someone takes a pair of turtle doves, attached to it is a paper that says the child's sex, age, and pin number," answered Shikamaru.

"What's the pin number for?" Ino wondered.

"Once you choose which child you want, you go to the front desk and tell them your pin. They you will give you a sheet with information on it about the child. It'll say things like what country they are from, their likes, dislikes; you know things like that. With this, you could provide the child with a perfect gift," he told her.

"Why do the turtle doves come in pairs? Why can't they just have one per person?" Ino continued to question about this.

"Besides the gift you provide, you'll also give them one of the turtle doves. So now both of you have one. It symbolizes the everlasting friendship you both have. It'll remind you of your good deed and remind the person of your generosity," Shikamaru replied.

"Wow that's nice," smiled Ino.

"Yeah it is, Shikamaru smiled back as he went back to finish decorating the Christmas tree.

Finally, decorating the massive Christmas tree was done. Ornaments were hung up, streamers were wrapped around, and the lights were placed.

"Now it's time to turn on the lights, who wants to do it?" asked a lady.

"Oh me! Me please! Can I turn on the lights pretty please," shouted Ino, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Sure thing, if you insist," chuckled the lady at Ino's persistence.

"Yay, thank you!" said Ino, and she plugged in the electrical plug into the outlet. "Wow, it's beautiful," she adorned the tree, watching the lights shine bright.

"That's what you get when you put all your hard work into something, the end results are the best," mentioned Shikamaru.

"I never thought of it like that. I guess I always thought it would be a big pain and it would be just a waste of my time," confessed Ino.

"Well now you know," said Shikamaru, reaching out for a turtle dove.

"Which one did you choose?" asked Ino,

"A twelve year old boy," responded Shikamaru. "Let's go to the front desk."

"...And here's your information sheet," said the front desk lady. "Please bring your present by the 21st of December. Thank you."

"It's getting late everyone, you all should be heading home. You all can return tomorrow to finish decorating. Thank you!" said the lady in charge of this.

"Let's go Shikamaru," announced Ino, ready to run out the door.

"Calm down you hyper active child," stated Shikamaru.

"Hurry up you indolent child," said Ino.

"I'd rather be lazy than hyper active, it's less work," said Shikamaru.

"Wait!" called out the boy from earlier, the one that made Ino want to rip his head off.

"What do you want?" Ino asked harshly, not forgetting the incident.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" asked the boy, and he led Ino away from everyone. "I'm sorry about my attitude earlier, it was wrong of me. It's part of my nature to take the lead, I was startled when you opposed. I guess that's never happened to me before and also because I was partly trying to impress you by saying all that. You're really pretty, that's why I sounded like an idiot."

"Well what can I say, I do have that effect on guys," said Ino, flipping her hair. She was truly flattered by his compliment. "And of course I forgive you."

"But that's not all I have to say. Um...will you go out with me?" he asked nervously.

"No sorry," Ino rejected him.

"Oh...it's okay. I kind of knew you were going to say no. That guy you're with told me that I had a real low chance of getting a yes from you," said the boy.

"Who, Shikamaru?" questioned Ino.

"If that's his name, then yes," he answered.

"Why would he say that?" wondered Ino.

"He said something about me not being your type, but it seemed more than that to me **(1)**," he told her. "Just out of curiosity, is there another guy in your mind? So I kind of know why you rejected me."

"Yeah there's a guy," she confessed.

"I knew it. Anyways, I'm really sorry for what I said and merry Christmas," he finished and left.

"Yeah...merry Christmas," Ino said quietly, returning to Shikamaru.

"What did he tell you?" asked Shikamaru.

"He apologized," smiled Ino.

"That's good," said Shikamaru.

"Why would you tell him that he had no chance with me?!" she yelled, slapping him on the arm.

"I didn't want to get his hopes up. I was looking out for you. The least you could do is acknowledge me for having your back troublesome woman," stated Shikamaru, rubbing the area she hit him.

"Thank you, that was sweet of you," she thanked him and the two started to walk home. "Oh shit! I left my purse!"

Ino ran back inside to get her purse. It was lying down beside the Christmas tree. She noticed the turtle doves and picked one up while she also got her purse. Ino went to the front desk to receive her information sheet.

"What took you so long?" wondered Shikamaru.

Ino showed him her turtle dove.

"Who did you get?" he asked.

"A seven year old girl who lives in India," responded Ino.

* * *

**Author's Note"**

**Whoo! Done chapter three. And I'll say that I actually liked this chapter.**

**Let me know what other things these two could do!**

**(1)- Can anyone interpret what this means? If you can, I'll give you a cookie! Plus a oneshot of your choice.**

**Review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Day 3

**Summary: **Ino arched an eyebrow, quizzically staring at the foreign objects, "What is that suppose to be?" Shikamaru chuckled, "3 french hens."

**Pairings: **ShikaIno friendship

**Disclaimer:** I do not own.

* * *

Chapter 4: Day 3

_On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pair tree._

"Again, he's late! Doesn't he know that the boy isn't suppose to be tardy, it looks very bad to the girl. Why does he keep doing this? It's not even a far walk! He should at le-" Ino started to rant again, waiting impatiently for Shikamaru.

"Boo!" he scared her from behind.

"Ah!" she screamed, jumping up from her spot. "Don't ever do that to me!"

"As a matter of fact, I can do it whenever I want to," smirked Shikamaru, leaving Ino speechless and furious. "C'mon Ino, I wouldn't want to stay there and be late!"

"I'm not the late one, you are!" screamed Ino, chasing after him.

"Here you go you two," said the lady who was in charge. She gave them one big box filled will all kinds of decorations. "When you're done, just bring back the box and grab another one in the storage room."

"Oooh, look at all those sparkly and shiny stuff," Ino said, mesmerized at the ornaments. "Let's put up all these sparkly stuff! It'll draw so much attention."

"But it's so painful in the eyes, let's just put up whatever," mentioned Shikamaru.

"What no! Put up lots of sparkly stuff!" Ino stated.

"You're so bossy, you can't just think that whatever you want is right and everyone will follow it," said Shikamaru, getting mad at her.

"Fine! We'll just do it your way. Don't get mad if people complain at the lack of awesomeness," Ino told him, and she started to put the plain decorations up.

But Shikamaru started to take them down and put it back into the box.

"Okay you hypocrite, I don't get it; you tell me that we can't do things my way so we do it your way. But then when I start putting it up, you put it down! Gosh, you are so confusing," snapped Ino. "You are as confusing as my dad! Sometimes I could never understand what you want. It's so annoying!"

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came to me," sighed Shikamaru. _Troublesome woman, I was just trying to be nice to her and letting her have her way. Women are so confusing..._

Ino grabbed the golden, sparkly streamer and started to go wrap it around the poles, "Whee! This is fun!"

Shikamaru smiled, shaking his head at her amusement and quick change in moods.

Continuing decorating, the two were able to finish three boxes or wall decorations and ornaments.

"Is that a kara bracelet?" Shikamaru noticed the silver bracelet around her arm.

"Yeah it is," nodded Ino. "How do you know?"

"I read it once in a book," said Shikamaru

"Do you like it? It's so simple, yet beautiful," Ino inquired.

"It's nice, but it doesn't suit you since you aren't Sikh. Considering that you have extremely long hair, you could potentially be seen as one; but here in this country I'm pretty sure there's a minimum of them," replied Shikamaru. "Otherwise, it just becomes another bracelet. Something without a great value behind it."

"But the man said that to a non-Sikh, it represents the totality of God and an endless cycle," mentioned Ino.

"Of course he's going to say that, he's just trying to make money of you," said Shikamaru.

"I never thought of it like that," understood Ino. "Let's get another box."

They came back with another one and started to hang up some decorations.

"I really don't know what I should give for the turtle dove," said Ino.

"Don't ask me, I have my own to think about. But you'll know when it comes to you. Besides, you're the only one who knows best about her," stated Shikamaru.

"Hm, true I guess," said Ino, taking out another item from the box. Ino arched an eyebrow, quizzically staring at the foreign objects, "What is that suppose to be?"

Shikamaru chuckled, "3 french hens."

"How do you know they're french?" she asked, not being able to put the pieces together.

"Because from the way they are dressed; like what French women wore back in the 1600s," answered Shikamaru.

"Well they're ugly," stated Ino.

"But they hold deep sentimental meaning. Each hen stands for something; faith, hope, and love. The three things that are important to have and portray, especially in the Christmas season," he explained to her.

Ino then realized what she will get for the seven year old girl. Something that shows faith, another thing that will bring her hope, and an item that portrays love.

"Shikamaru? What are you going to give the boy?" asked Ino.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I have some things already picked out," answered Shikamaru.

The woman who was in charged came up to Ino, "Hi, I was wondering if you are free tomorrow. Because if you are, then can you be so kind to read to the children in our day care?"

"Um..." said Ino, not sure of what to say. As much as she loved children, she wasn't a fan of books.

"Of course I'm not forcing you to do it. You just have such a lively attitude and the kind of person to love kids," mentioned the lady.

"Can I let you know later? I'll think about it first," Ino told her.

"Yeah sure! I'll be in my office or running around this building getting things in order," the lady said, and she left the two.

"You should really do it, especially since all women like kids," said Shikamaru.

"That's so sexist," replied Ino.

"Well, do you like children?" asked Shikamaru.

"Yes..." answered Ino.

"Then that defeats this conflict and it's not really considered sexist anymore. But you should really do it," mentioned Shikamaru.

"Can you do it with me?" wondered Ino.

"No sorry, I got things to catch up on (sleep)," responded Shikamaru.

"Oh, I was looking forward on spending another day with you," Ino said sadly.

"Okay everyone, everything has been put up and there is nothing left to decorate!" announced the lady in charge. "So I guess you are all free to go, thank you for your time."

"Oh yes, tomorrow I could read for the day care. I just love kids," Ino told the lady in charge.

"Ah thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Just be here by 10," said the lady.

"Alright, then I'll see you tomorrow," replied Ino.

The woman smiled and waved goodbye before leaving to finish her errands.

"So what's happening?" asked Shikamaru.

"I'm volunteering tomorrow," answered Ino.

"That's good," said Shikamaru.

"Let's go out for lunch," stated Ino. "Mind you that I'm on a diet; I can't have anything that has carbs or is really greasy."

"Then that eliminates every restaurant out there," said Shikamaru.

"I'm pretty sure there's somewhere where it meets my diet needs," responded Ino.

"Trust me there isn't. I don't understand why you need to be on a diet, you look fine. Actually, I don't understand why girls try to be more than just themselves. It's because of the media, it's so superficial and it makes girls loose their confidence," replied Shikamaru.

"But how am I suppose to look good if I'm not on this diet," said Ino.

Shikamaru sighed, "Come with me. I know a place where it most suits your diet."

* * *

"Wing Ming's Fling?" Ino cocked her head at the restaurant in front of her.

"Ignore the name, they have really good food. It's my favourite restaurant. But as for your diet, you'll have to eat carbs," said Shikamaru. "Don't worry about the food being greasy, they also don't like it."

The two entered the restaurant and were greeted by an old couple, the owners of the restaurant.

"Shikamaru! Long time no see! How are you?" said the old lady.

"I'm doing fine Mei-san, how about you?" replied Shikamaru.

"I'm also fine," smiled Mei.

"Who's this here that you brought with us? A lady friend? Shikamaru, why have you grown up! I remember when you were little and you hated girls," mentioned the old man.

"That's Ino, and she's just a friend of mine Akihiro-san," responded Shikamaru, blushing at Akihiro's statement.

"So what brings you here son?" asked Akihiro.  
"Ino wanted to go out for lunch , so I brought her to the best restaurant in the world," answered Shikamaru.

"Oh you're exaggerating," said Mei, waving her hand in front of her.

"And you are too modest," said Shikamaru.

"Here come sit down and we'll get you your usual Shikamaru," said Akihiro. "And you Ino, what would you like to have?"

"I'll have noodles please," said Ino.

"We'll be back with your food," said Mei, leaving with her husband.

"Oh my gosh they are so cute! I just love old couples," Ino said to Shikamaru when the couple left. "How do you know them?"

"They used to look after my mom when she was little, so they became close with my family. And also when I was little, they would be the ones that babysat me," answered Shikamaru.

"Here is your food," said Akihiro coming with the food.

* * *

"Wow am I stuffed! That was good food," said Ino.

"Of course it was, I told you it was the best food. But what happened to your diet? You just ate carbs," Shikamaru realized.

"I was being nice, and you said that their food was good so I had to give it a shot," explained Ino.

"Can we go to the toy store across the street? I got to get something for the boy," said Shikamaru.

"Yeah sure," replied Ino.

On their way, they saw a man ringing a bell silently asking for money for his charity. Ino gave her loose change to him. It lit a smile on the guy's face and she felt happiness in her heart.

At the toy store, while Shikamaru was getting the item he needed, Ino browsed through every aisle. When she went to her third aisle, she spotted the perfect gift: a toy doctor kit and a doll that got sick and got better.

Before they went to pay, Ino noticed the chess board, "Shikamaru, let's play!" The two play and Shikamaru won within a few moves.

Another round is played because Ino wanted to win this time.

Round 2: Shikamaru wins

Round 3: Shikamaru wins

...Round 7: Shikamaru wins

Ino got upset from loosing so many times she gave up. "Hey you! Do you know how to play chess?" she asked a random adult who nodded his head in return. "Can you verse him in this game?"

The man accepted the challenge, but to Ino's dismay he lost. Soon, because of Ino, every adult in the store faced Shikamaru and lost to him.

Ino gave up and dragged him to the cashier. For Shikamaru's amazing talent, they gave him that chess board.

"Another one, this will go with the other eight ones I have," said Shikamaru, leaving the store with Ino.

"Hey, how do play so well at chess?" wondered Ino.

"Every time the weather was bad, I would play chess with my dad or at school I would play with Asuma-sensei during the break time," explained Shikamaru.

"Wow, you must have had a lot of practice," said Ino. " Hey, can we go to the bookstore?"

"Sure," answered Shikamaru.

"Do you know where it is?" inquired Ino, embarrassed to ask the question.

"Here, follow me, I know where it is," he told her.

"...And here is your bookstore," announced Shikamaru, showing Ino where the store was. "This one has so many books from all different kinds of genres one could find."

"How do you know this?" questioned Ino.

"I read every book in the store, even the gossip magazines. I love that the world's knowledge is within a short distance from me," answered Shikamaru. "Even though everything may be on the Internet, it is nothing compared to the books. With the Internet, as long as you have the idea, you'll be able to gain knowledge on it; otherwise it becomes useless. Unlike books, you could have never thought of it, but when you see the book, you could easily know."

"That's amazing," responded Ino. "Do you know where I could find a suitable book for a seven year old girl learning English as a second language?"

Shikamaru brought her to the kids section which was on the second floor of the building. "It's best to choose the fairy tales, so she's exposed to the common stories here. Especially when she continues learning English, the more complex books will have a lot of references. Knowing the basics, she'll understand references better and the book itself."

"So what specific book do you recommend?" asked Ino.

"Anything will do, or it can relate to her likes and interests," replied Shikamaru. "Though I advise you not to give Rumpelstiltskin, otherwise the child is going to spend the rest of their life trying to pronounce his name."

"I don't think I have heard that story before," recalled Ino.

"Have you been living under a rock? It's not like your typical children's story. Sit and I'll tell you the story of Rumpelstiltskin," responded Shikamaru.

"I love me a good story time," said Ino sitting in front of him.

"...And if you tell a lie or brag, be aware, you might get a visit from Rumpelstiltskin," he concluded the story.

When he finished many kids sitting around listening to him intensely. The kids gave him a round of applause and returned to their parents.

"You really drew in a crowd. Can you please come tomorrow with me? You are really good at this," asked Ino.

"I told you I'm busy," said Shikamaru.

"Please please please, please with a cherry on top!" begged Ino.

"I'll think about it," said Shikamaru, leaving pretty content.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**So, what do you think? Is it good, do you like it? I decided to add a little background information about Shikamaru and Ino. Also I wanted them to have a relationship outside of their volunteering lives. **

**Thank you for reading and don't forget to review! **


	5. Chapter 5: Day 4

**Summary: **Birds are usually never seen alone, they are always with another one; and that's what makes them special.

**Pairings:** ShikaIno friendship

**Disclaimer:** I do not own.

* * *

Chapter 5: Day 4

_On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree._

"Ah good, you're here early!" exclaimed the lady in charge to Ino.

"Come here with me to the library. Sometime in the next few minutes, the kids will come to our library. They'll sit down on the floor and you'll read a book based on their choice. While reading, make sure to interact with the kids so they pay attention."

"That seems good," understood Ino.

"After that, just ask them how satisfied they were with the book. Then you could tell them a Christmas story either from a book, or your own. And to finish off, they'll take out a book from here and return back to the room they stay," the lady continued to explain to Ino. "Oh, here come the children. Kids come sit in front of me. Today our guest is Ino, she will be the one to read you two stories, one of your choice and a Christmas one, and help you choose a book. Everyone, please give your undivided attention to our guest Ino.

"Hi kids, I'm Ino Yamanaka! How are you?" Ino greeted herself.

"Good!" responded the kids

"Now, what story would you like to read?" asked Ino. Many responses came, but she could only hear one answer clearly. "I guess it's the 'Hungry Caterpillar'."

Ino went to get the book to start reading, "This is one of my favourite books. How many of you have heard of this one?"

A few of the children's hand went up.

"Oh good, then this would be a new story for most of you," said Ino. "The 'Hungry Caterpillar', by Eric Carle..."

She read each page of the story while asking questions in between, "...And he was a beautiful butterfly." Ino showed the kids the last page of the book.

"That's an ugly butterfly!" one of the kids said out loud.

"Well that's not nice," responded Ino. "Everyone and every living creature is beautiful in their own way. It is rude to say that, everyone grows up to be beautiful."

"I think you're pretty," the kid said, feeling sorry and tried to get on Ino's good side.

"Thank you. So how did you like the book? Did you like it?" Ino asked the children.

"Yeah!" answered the children.

"What was your favourite part? wondered Ino.

A girl raised her hand and Ino chose her, "The part where the caterpillar ate so much food and got a stomach ache!"

"I like that part as well," said Ino, then she noticed a pineapple hair in one of the aisles. "Just wait for a second kids. Talk amongst yourself about the story before I tell you the next one."

Ino went up to him and sure enough, it was Shikamaru reading a book on The 10 Lords, "Hey you came."

"Yeah I did, I couldn't leave you alone," responded Shikamaru.

"Would you like to tell a Christmas story to the children? You could read from a book or tell one that you know. Can you? I can't think of a story," explained Ino.

"Yeah sure, I know one," he said.

"Thank you! You are a life saver!" she exclaimed, bringing him to where the kids are. "Everyone, meet my friend Shikamaru Nara, he will be the one to tell you a Christmas story."

"Hi kids, this story was told to me when I was a child your age by two people, the owners of the best restaurant," said Shikamaru.

"What were their names?" asked one of the children out loud.

"Mei-san and Akihiro-san," answered Shikamaru.

The kids applauded Shikamaru when he finished and thanked him for telling the story. Now they went to sign out a book with Ino and Shikamaru's help. Soon, they finished volunteering and were free to go.

* * *

"Do you like the 10 Lords?" wondered Ino, remembering that Shikamaru was looking at that book in the library.

"I just heard that there will be a performance here in less than a week," answered Shikamaru.

"Are you serious? I love The 10 Lords! I have to see it! Who did you here it from?" Ino continued to question him.

"Sasuke," said Shikamaru.

"As in Sasuke Uchiha?" Ino gasped.

"The one and only," confirmed Shikamaru.

Ino started to fangirl on the spot - jumping up and down and squealing in excitement, "I know what to do!"

"Are you seriously going to buy tickets for you and him?" questioned Shikamaru. "Are you even his friend?"

"Not really. But after this, we will be, then become a couple, then marry, and live the rest of our lives in a penthouse by the beach," Ino stated her dream for the future.

"That's a lame dream. We need to get you a new one," he told her, like how she did when she found out he liked wrapping presents.

"Well if you like a girl, then you'll understand," stated Ino.

"For your information, I like a girl," replied Shikamaru.

"Then don't you have a dream like that?" asked Ino.

"Why would I?" Shikamaru questioned back.

"Because it's cute," explained Ino.

"I'm just being realistic," responded Shikamaru,

"You know what, I'm going to get you two together!" Ino told him her brilliant idea.

"That's going to be impossible," Shikamaru said, bringing her hopes down.

"Why?" asked Ino.

"Because you don't know who she is," answered Shikamaru.

"Hm fine," she gave up arguing with him. "At least come with me so I could purchase the tickets."

The two went to buy two tickets to see The 10 Lords for Ino, and hopefully for Ino, Sasuke.

"I can't wait! He's definitely going to say yes, I could just feel it," exclaimed Ino, getting all excited again.

"I wouldn't count on it, Sasuke doesn't go to see it with just anyone," Shikamaru warned Ino.

"Don't worry, he'll say yes because of two reasons. One, he loves The 10 Lords and two, my beauty is irresistible," Ino said confidently, giving a hair flip as well.

Then Shikamaru's phone started to ring, "Hello? Mom? Stop screaming at me. Yes I'll do it, tomorrow. I'm too lazy. Okay bye." He hung up and explained to Ino the call, "I was suppose to donate our old clothes to the thrift store today, but I got lazy. I'm going to do it tomorrow. Would you like to come?"

"Sure, I'd like to come," answered Ino.

"Cool, then bring any old clothes you have tomorrow," Shikamaru told her, and they started to walk towards their houses.

"Oh look two birds," Ino pointed out. "Look! Another two birds came to join them."

"Those are called calling birds, or colly birds, or just simply common birds," explained Shikamaru.

"Thanks Mr. Smart Alec," Ino said sarcastically. Then something came in her mind that irritated her and constantly wonder, "Why haven't they migrated south along with the other birds?"

"Probably because they are too young, could not catch up with the group, or where they usually go does not provide a proper habitat anymore," Shikamaru explained to her. "But at least they have each other, that's all that counts."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Yes I know this chapter was shorter, but whatever. How was it? Ideas for the other days?**

**Review! **


	6. Chapter 6: Day 5

**Summary:** "A ring is round and it has no ends and that's how long I'll be your friend."

**Pairings:** ShikaIno friendship, SasuIno unrequited love (do not worry, it's unrequited for a reason).

**Disclaimer:** I do not own.

* * *

Chapter 6: Day 5

_On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree._

"Shikamaru Nara?" Inoichi said in surprised, seeing the boy at his front door. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to pick up Ino, we're going to donate our old clothes to the thrift shop," explained Shikamaru.

"Here come in!" exclaimed Inoichi, allowing the boy to enter. "Ino told be about this yesterday, but I though she was joking around. Usually it's me who brings the clothes. She's right now in her room still choosing what she's going to donate. She's been doing this since last night."

"Thank you Inoichi-san," said Shikamaru, and he went upstairs to Ino's room. He knocked on her door, but no one responded; he knocked again and again and again until she said something.

"Stop that dad! I'm busy; leave me alone!" yelled Ino.

"It's Shikamaru," he told her.

Ino came to open the door and had a smile on her face, "Hi Shikamaru! I didn't know you were here."

"How are you still looking through clothes? You should be done by now," wondered Shikamaru. He took a seat on the edge of her bed, the only place where it wasn't covered by her clothes.

"It's not my fault that I have a lot of clothes to look through," said Ino looking through every single shelf in her closet. "By in that bag in the corner are my dad's old clothes," she pointed to the isolated bag in the corner.

"How much clothes do you have?" asked Shikamaru, seeing the giant walk-in closet. "Do you really need all this?"

"Yes, you never know what occasion could come. It's good to be prepared," she explained to him about having so many clothes.

"Here, how about donating this?" questioned Shikamaru, picking up a knitted sweater.

"Oh yeah definitely that. I never knew that was there. Good thing you found that, I'd be dead if someone caught me wearing," answered Ino.

"How about this shirt? It looks like it would be small on you," Shikamaru decided to help her, the quicker they finished this, the more time he has to relax.

"No! This is a crop top, and it's suppose to be like that," explained Ino, grabbing the shirt out of his hands. "And are you saying that I'm fat?"

"What? No! Where did you get that idea?" his eyes-widen at her interpretation. He took a mental note to remember not to question about her figure. Some girls didn't mind if someone commented on their looks, while others cared about it. Clearly, Ino was the latter. He reminded himself that woman are confusing and tried not to start an argument with her.

"You said that the shirt seemed small for me, so that means I'm too fat to wear it," Ino explained where she was coming from.

"I didn't mean that. I didn't even know that's called a crop top. I just thought it was a regular shirt that you outgrew," he explained to her what he was truly saying, though she still took it the wrong way.

"So you're saying that I became fat," Ino said again, still not understanding him..

Desperate times calls for desperate measures. If Ino cared so much about her looks, then the only way for her to understand him, then that's what he'll do, "No! Stop twisting my words! You look fine now and before; you always looked great. I just don't have a sense of fashion, that's why I had no clue what that shirt is called."

"Aw thank you, you're so sweet. And clearly, do you not see how you dress?" Ino smiled sweetly at him, forgetting everything she said before that.

"I dress fine thank you. It's appropriate and comfortable, there is no need to judge for my choices," frowning upon her comment.

"We'll give you a wardrobe change," an idea came to her mind.

"But I didn't request for one," Shikamaru pointed out, not wanting a wardrobe change.

"Nobody said you had to come to us, we came to you," Ino insisted for this to happen. It was a wonderful chance for her to do something great and go shopping at the same time. She smiled to herself at how smart she was.

"It's just you, nobody else is on your side," he told her, realizing that her sentence did not make sense.

"You know what? I don't need your intellectual remarks," Ino snapped at him, frowning that he outsmarted her. "Just think of it as a Christmas makeover gift from Ino."

Shikamaru muttered something that was suppose to be incoherent, but Ino was able to hear it, "Troublesome woman." He shook his head at her stubbornness and she rolled her eyes at his stubbornness. In the end, both of them have an equal amount of stubbornness.

"Here is a section of clothes that I don't wear anymore. It's sad that I have to remove this whole shelf, but most of them aren't even in style anymore, so whatever," she shrugged her shoulders, grabbing all the clothes and dumping it into the pile.

"Is that it?" he asked getting impatient with her.

"Yeah this should do," nodding her head.

* * *

"Here, your clothes can go in this room along with all the other donated clothes," instructed the lady working in the thrift store. She opened the door of the room and gestured where the bags should be placed. "And to thank you for your generous offer, we'd like to present to you this coupon." It was a card that gave them 10% off their next purchase. "Thank you for your generosity and donation. Merry Christmas."

"What do you want to do now?" asked Shikamaru, after the two of them gave their bags of clothes.

"Let's thrift! I don't know about you, but I never go thrifting, so this coupon would go to waste,"

"Makes sense," Shikamaru nodded his head, understanding where she came from. He too did not shop at the thrift store often. So this was an opportunity not to waste a coupon, and it would be troublesome if he had to go to the thrift store in the future and the coupon was out of date.

Ino browsed through every aisle of the store in every section. Here and there she would pick out a clothing item and examine it carefully looking at it and making sure it was too her taste. Unlike Ino, Shikamaru had no time to do this. He just passed by each aisle, seeming as if he was not totally interested in the store.

Ino then was fascinated by a shirt she saw and laughed to herself. Seeing Shikamaru was bored out of his mind, she called him over, "Here you go, happy birthday."

"It's not my birthday. By birthday was three months ago and why are you giving me this? I don't need it," wondered Shikamaru, holding up the shirt in disgust.

"Remember, I told you I was going to give you a wardrobe makeover," said Ino.

"And I told you I didn't want one," said Shikamaru. "Besides, this shirt is hideous. Isn't a makeover suppose to be an improvement, not to worsen the state it's already in?"

"Yes, but do you not know me enough? I'm Ino Yamanaka, the girl who goes over and beyond. So instead of a makeover that everyone knows, I'm going the opposite direction," Ino explained her plan. "Since you don't necessarily want a makeover, I won't make you change what you wear, just for this time while we're in the store. And since we're in a thrift shop, there isn't really any clothes that are very fashionable. So, instead of shopping for the most stylish clothes, we'll look for the ugliest clothes we could find."

"So let me get this straight, I'm going to be your doll for the day and you'll dress me up and bad as possible?" questioned Shikamaru. "Troublesome..."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun! Trust me," she pleaded him, giving him her best puppy look.

"I don't know, I don't think I could trust you with this nonsense idea, it's pretty infantile," stated Shikamaru, not wanting to tag along with her thought.

Ino pouted at the fact that he didn't fall for her puppy look. She was sure he would, everyone does, "Would you rather have a total wardrobe change or just a one day change?"

He knew it, she trapped him. There was only one way out, and it was the way she wanted. He sighed in defeat, "Fine, go look for the ugliest garments."

She squealed with happiness and ran around the store to look for the hideous clothes. Within a few minutes, she came back with a heap of clothes in her arms. Ino dragged him to the dressing room and every few minutes, he came out of the room with a new wardrobe. It wasn't probably after the 22nd outfit that Ino smirked at him. And Shikamaru knew what she was thinking about, Ino found the most grotesque outfit. He was wearing what he thought was a spandex onesies, like those clothes that the athletes wear that were suppose to make them more agile. Over that he wore a bra, the most uncomfortable bra ever. Not that he had ever wore a bra before. Being his first time, it was uncomfortable. No wonder he always heard from woman several times that taking their bra off was the best feeling ever. Shikamaru also wore what seemed to be a 70s shirt. But it wasn't what one wore when they went to go disco, it was a button up shirt that had flowers on it. Sure people wore that now, but it's mostly when they go on vacation. He had on tie-dye socks, he questioned himself several times on this.

Ino was laughing, laughing at him. He shook his head and went back into the dressing room to change back. He saw his reflection in the mirror and became disgusted.

When he came out, Ino was still laughing at him. But he would rather choose this than have his whole closet torn apart.

"That was fun!" exclaimed Ino.

"For you, it was troublesome for me," Shikamaru dis not say with happiness.

"Oh come on, it's the holidays, cheer up!" stated Ino.

Shikamaru saw a set of a pair of mittens, a hat, and a scarf as a package on the rack. He examined it, making sure everything was in shape and there were no holes in it

"What's it for?" wondered Ino, noticing him starting deeply into the package.

"For the boy, the turtle dove, part of the gift," answered Shikamaru.

"Oh I should get one for the girl!" realized Ino.

"But doesn't she live in India? That wouldn't make sense. Why don't you look for something that would be more suitable for her?" pointed out Shikamaru, reminding her about this crucial detail.

Ino went around to look and she came across a section that she would have never thought would be in a thrift store. It was the jewelry section, it was filled with antique jewelry to the latest style to vintage to retro and to every kind of style Ino could think of.

She stumbled upon a set of rings, 5 gold rings. Written on the inside of each ring said something - more like spelled something. One had the letter 'L', the second 'O', the third 'V', the fourth 'E', and the fifth had a heart shape.

"Love," Ino whispered, after looking at each ring. She was mesmerized by this beauty and wondered why someone would donate such a beautiful accessory. She tried on the rings and they slid perfectly around her fingers.

"There's a reason why rings are a circle and no other shape," said Shikamaru, coming towards her. "A circle has no beginning or end. It's an endless cycle, and that's how life is. You know what they say: A ring is round and it has no ends and that's how long I'll be your friend."

"That's true, I'm going to get this!" announced Ino.

The two went to the cashier to pay for the the package of mittens, hat, and a scarf; and the gold rings.

On their way, Shikamaru saw a hideous dress on the side an picked it up to show Ino, "You should wear this to prom."

"Oh yeah, I'd be a beauty in that," Ino said sarcastically.

"Yeah you would," said Shikamaru, but he didn't say it sarcastically, and he wasn't agreeing with her either.

"Wait what?" Ino didn't understand what he was saying.

"Sure at first people would comment what your wearing, but they'd forget about it. Your beauty is radiant and it overpowers the ugliness of this dress. Pretty much what I'm saying is that you could wear anything and you'll look good in it," Shikamaru explained himself.

Ino was shocked at his response. It touched her heart. Sure she knew she was pretty, but the way Shikamaru said it, it was the nicest thing anyone has said to her.

"Anyways, let's go pay for our stuff," Shikamaru said, changing the subject. Ino noticed the tint of pink on his cheeks and found it so cute that he got embarrassed whenever he said something romantic.  
Ino gave him a big bear hug, like said before, it's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to her, "Thank you."

The cashier lady coughed at the two, waiting for them to place their items. They turned to tomatoes at their gesture and placed their items in the conveyor belt. Awkwardness flew through the air. "$11.57 is your total."

Shikamaru gave the coupon they received today and the lady said, "$10.41."

Ino was about to pay, but Shikamaru pushed her hand out of the way and he paid it for himself. She smiled, though it seemed rude, it was a nice gesture.

The day was coming to an end and they couldn't believe that they spent their whole day at a thrift store.

"Oh gosh! I almost forgot, I have to ask Sasuke if he wants to go with me to watch The 10 Lords!" realized Ino, as she started to freak out.

"There's nothing to worry about," reassured Shikamaru.

"Have you ever asked the one you liked out before?" questioned Ino.

"No..." answered Shikamaru.

"Then how would you know there's nothing to worry about," Ino said. "I have to practice!"

"Then practice," stated Shikamaru.

"How should I start it? Make a big performance? No, that's too spontaneous for this. Talk through a bull-horn? No, also spontaneous. I have no idea what to do!" Ino continued to freak out.

"Why not a simple greeting?" suggested Shikamaru.

"Yeah your right, that's good," Ino accepted his suggestion, and started to try different types of greetings. "Um... Hello there Sasuke Uchiha. No, that sounds too formal. Hiya Sasuke-kun! I sound like a fangirl there. Howdy do Sasuke? Ew, too country. Aye whassup Uchiha? Ew, I sound like I'm living the thug life."

"How about start up a normal conversation? Like, hi Sasuke," Shikamaru continued to help Ino with her dilemma.

"I like that, you're a genius Shikamaru! Okay, now I need to know when to ask me. I was planning on tomorrow, but it seems so soon," wondered Ino, not wanting to be creepy.

"Better to have it done sooner than later," said Shikamaru.

"I guess I'll go over to his place and ask him," responded Ino.

"Like that's not creepy at all," he pointed out.

"What do you want me to do? Stalk him until he's alone and pop out of nowhere and ask him?" she gave him the worst scenario she could think of.

"Touché," Shikamaru said in defeat.

They arrived at Ino's house and he walked her to the door.

"Wish me good luck?" smiled Ino.

"You're Ino, you don't need any luck," said Shikamaru, knowing that she didn't need any.

"Please?" Ino pleaded him.

"Good luck," he smiled at her.

"Thank you. Good bye," she smiled back and bidded farewell.

"Bye," he said, and left.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Finally I'm done this chapter. Gosh, I'm behind schedule, but don't worry, I'm catching up.**

**Review! Thanks for reading! **


	7. Chapter 7: Day 6

**Summary:** Ice cream, just one of the many comfort foods out there.

**Pairings:** ShikaIno friendship and SasuIno unrequited love

**Disclaimer:** I do not own.

* * *

Chapter 7: Day 6

_On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six geese-a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge In a pear tree._

Ino took heavy breaths. 1...2...3...4...5... she mentally was counting her breath. She was always told to do this every time she nervous. ...6...7...8...9... okay, it wasn't working for her. Ino knew she could do this, remembering all the harder obstacles she had to face.

Confidently, she raised her index finger and rang the doorbell of the Uchiha's house. After waiting for a few seconds, no one answered the door and she rang the doorbell again.

This time, someone opened it. To her surprise, it was Sasuke. Ino was hoping it was his mom, but to have him, it was so much better.

Sasuke arched a perfect eyebrow that almost made Ino faint. She choked on her words and cracked out her greeting, "Hi Sasuke."

"Hn," Sasuke muttered.

"Um...I w-was um, wondering um if you c-could, no would like to um come with me to see Th-the 10 Lords?" Ino stuttering throughout the question.

"No," Sasuke said coldly and shut the door in front of her face.

"R-right okay, Merry Christmas," she said quietly, as a tear trailed down her face.

Her lips quivered and her eyes watered up at her first rejection. She couldn't believe it, Sasuke Uchiha rejected Ino Yamanaka. Tears came down her eyes. She started to walk away from the house as fast as her legs could take her. Ino didn't care where she was going, the farther she was from his house, the less she had to worry about.

As she was walking, someone bumped into her her making her stumble on her steps, "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry," muttered the person, then he turned around and his eyes-widen. "Oy Ino what's wrong?"

She realized it was Shikamaru who bumped into her.

"Why are you crying?" he asked her, pushing her bangs away.

At first Ino didn't want to tell him, but she knew she could trust him. Stuttering her words, she told him, "S-Sasuke rejected me."

Shikamaru gave her a hug, a reassurance that someone was there for her. It was an awkward hug though. He wasn't the type of person to comfort and she wasn't the type of person to cry. But I guess in the end, Ino didn't really care and he just wanted to be a good friend.

They remained like that for a while until Ino's cry turned into sniffles and stopped to cry. "You alright?" asked Shikamaru

"Y-yeah, I'm better now," she nodded her head, releasing herself from his arms.

"Here, let's go to my place, I'm pretty sure you don't want to go home in this state," offered Shikamaru, leading her the way.

Within time, they reached his house and they entered the peaceful, quiet home. "Shikamaru Nara! I thought you told me you weren't going to be home for lunch! Now I have to make extra food just for you!" yelled Yoshino, ruining the silence.

"Troublesome woman..." muttered Shikamaru, ignoring his mother's shouting. He continued to walk inside the house with Ino by his side.

"Do you have any respect for me? As your moth-" Yoshino continued to yell until she saw Ino beside him. "Shikamaru Nara! How could you? Did your father and I not raise you properly? Why is this young girl crying? Why did you make her cry?"

"I didn't ma-" Shikamaru tried to tell his mom, but she cut him off.

"I don't want to hear your yapping," said Yoshino, then she directed her attention to Ino.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, his mother was always like that, yelling at him for no apparent reason. Troublesome woman.

"Here sweetie, come sit down on the couch. Tell me what happen. What did my son do to you?" Yoshino asked sweetly to Ino.

"It wasn't Shikamaru's fault, he was actually the one who was there with me right after the incident happened," explained Ino, not being afraid to open up to Yoshino

"Shikamaru! Why didn't you tell me it was your fault?" questioned Yoshino.

Shikamaru sighed and shook his head, "I did, I tried to tell you earlier but you cut me off."

Then she directed her attention back to Ino, "Continue hun, tell me why you were crying."

"I really like this guy and I found out that we both had this one common interest..." Ino started to explain everything that happened.

Shikamaru saw this as an opportunity to leave to his room. He waited with the two woman, pretending to listen to their conversation. He knew woman always had weird conversations, but at this moment his suspicions were confirmed. When things were running smoothly between his mom and Ino, Shikamaru slowly made his way to the stairs. He took his first step on the stairs and the rest would be to paradise.

"Shikamaru!" shouted Yoshino, ruining his run to victory. It was like she heard him leave, she probably has like some super-mom powers that allow her to hear and see things beyond the norm.

"Yes?" Shikamaru said sluggishly, disappointed that he couldn't go to his room to rest.

"I need you to go to the grocery store for me," instructed Yoshino, giving him a sheet of paper of what to buy.

* * *

Shikamaru came back in half an hour with the desired items for his mother.

"Thank you Shikamaru," said Yoshino, taking the bag away from him. "Here Ino, come have a tub of ice cream to heal that broken heart of yours."

"How is that suppose to help?" questioned Shikamaru, not seeing any way to help someone.

"It just does," responded Ino. Then she started to eat from the tub, devouring her feelings into it.

This time, Shikamaru was able to leave the two woman alone without being interrupted on his way to his room.

Shikamaru lied down on his bed and started to toss a tennis ball above his head. He three it a fee times until by accident he didn't catch it and it landed on his face. Gravity...the force that draws everything to the earth. It's just the larger version of love. Shikamaru then opened his window and climbed out to sit on the roof. He loved watching the clouds pass by. It was so peaceful and there seemed to be no worries. Sometimes he wished he was a cloud, being able to do whatever. It didn't have to experience so much troublesome things and a random force that drew you to something else.

But the longer Shikamaru thought about the wonders of a cloud, he slowly started to realize that maybe being a cloud isn't exactly what he truly wants to be. Sure it would be nice to float around and do nothing, but Shikamaru would miss all the knowledge he gained over his lifetime. Maybe there's a reason to why he isn't a cloud...

Soon after watching the clouds for a long time, Shikamaru went back inside to get something to eat. He did miss lunch and his mom didn't make anything for him because she was too busy being a therapist for Ino's love life. He shuffled through the cupboards and the refrigerator and came across nothing. In the sink he say empty ice cream cartons laying there.

"Who's going to clean this up?" Shikamaru questioned the two woman eating in the living room. "Certainly not me."

"Later," Yoshino shooed off the mess and went back to eating the ice cream.

"There's six tubs of ice cream. And you didn't even eat the other brands you told me to get! Only the one called Geese..." complained Shikamaru. "Look at this, there are six Geese laying here."

"Stop complaining Shikamaru, there are other things to worry about," said Ino. "Like who's going to go with me to see Ten 10 Lords."

"Why not you Shikamaru? I'm pretty sure you have nothing to do on that day," Yoshino suggested, volunteering her own son.

"I can't, I got lots of things to catch on," Shikamaru told his mom, not wanting to go to see it.

"Shikamaru how rude of you! Poor Ino had to suffer through a rejection from the one she liked and now you? Haven't we taught you what's right?" yelled Yoshino.

Shikamaru didn't want to provoke his mother and hear her yell at him anymore. He gave up on trying to pursue his own needs. Catching up on his sleep could come another day... "Sure I'll go with you Ino," he told the girl.

Without any acknowledgement, the women went back to eating their ice cream and started to talk about things on boy would want to hear.

"Woman are troublesome..." stated Shikamaru, confirming this sentence for the millionth time.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Finally done! I can't believe I updated twice in one day.**

**Thanks for reading and review!**


	8. Chapter 8: Day 7

**Summary: **Is there a difference between swan and bird food?

**Pairings: **ShikaIno friendship

**Disclaimer: **I do not own.

* * *

Chapter 8: Day 7

_On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, seven swans-a-swimming, six geese-a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree._

"Wow, look at all those gifts," admired Ino, as she looked at the Christmas tree in the community centre.

Ino and Shikamaru just delivered their gifts to the community centre. Each bag had a turtle dove tied around the handle and each person held the other turtle dove. It was a beautiful sight to see, a Christmas tree surrounded by gifts. Gifts not for one specific person, but gifts given by the more fortunate to the less fortunate. That's what Christmas is all about.

Ino's curiosity piqued and wondered what Shikamaru gave, "What did you give the boy?"

"A toy, soccer ball, a pair of mittens, a hat, and gloves," answered Shikamaru. "You?"

"Ever since you told me what those ugly chickens represented, I knew what to give. The doll, doctor kit, and books for hope, since she wants to become a doctor when she grows up. The five gold rings for love," responded Ino.

"And the kara bracelet for faith?" guessed Shikamaru.

"How did you know?" Ino said in surprise.

"You're not wearing the bracelet anymore and I figured that it came to your senses that the bracelet was more suitable for the little girl," explained Shikamaru.

"Oh makes sense," nodded Ino, then she walked to the vending machine and got herself a treat. "Want some?" she offered Shikamaru, but he declined.

After finishing with the turtle doves, the two started to take a stroll on the trail around the area. Without any notice, Ino started to take the lead. They reached the destination Ino wanted to do to. It was a small area behind the community centre. There was a pond in the middle and a bench at the side. That was pretty much it, nothing really special. Shikamaru became confused why Ino led them here.

"This is my secret place," Ino answered Shikamaru's unspoken question.

Then an old couple came by passing the two continuing on the trail.

Shikamaru arched an eyebrow, not seeing how it's a secret place where everyone had access to it.

"Actually, it was more of a secret get-away and it was a secret place I went to that my dad never knew about," Ino rephrased her statement. "Instead of going home and dealing with my dad, I'd here and reflect on life. If I didn't see you yesterday, I would have gone here."

Shikamaru remained quiet, giving Ino her space to talk about this place she found magical.

"Look here, there are seven swans swimming!" Ino said excitedly. "Aw, they're so cute!" She cooed at the birds and started to feed them with the cookies she bought from the vending machine.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his neck, "Ino, I think feeding them with that might be bad. The chocolate may harm them."

"Way to ruin the mood," sighed Ino as she stopped feeding the swans. "Let's go to the pet store to get some food."

Shikamaru and Ino went to the local pet store and started to search for some swan food.

"There's no swan food!" complained Ino. "Now how am I suppose to feed them.?"

"Can't you just use regular bird food?" questioned Shikamaru, showing her a bag of bird food.

"No there's a difference. Those are for domestic birds and the food I'm looking for is for swans," explained Ino.

"I'll go ask someone who asks here if they have swan food," said Shikamaru. When he was far enough from her he sighed, "Bird food, swan food; what's the difference?"

Shikamaru approached on of the employees and waited until they were done with their current customer, "Hello there, how may I help you?"

"Do you sell any swan food?" Shikamaru inquired, feeling like an idiot.

"No I don't believe so. But I'm pretty sure if you use regular bird food it would be just find," answered the employee.

"Thanks. And can you do me a favor?" wondered Shikamaru.

"Sure, shoot it," said the employee.

"My friend has convinced herself ray bird food and swan food are two completely different types, so can you put a sticker that says swan food over bird food?" asked Shikamaru.

"Yeah I could do that," nodded the employee.

* * *

"Here is your bag of swan food," said the employee, giving the bag to Ino after they paid for it.

"See Shikamaru, I told you there are two different kinds," Ino told Shikamaru.  
"And may I introduce you two a wonderful opportunity that is happening tomorrow," said the employee, showingthe two a flyer. "Tomorrow volunteers are allowed to come in and help take care of the dogs that are left here by their owners."

"Shikamaru we should do that! I love dogs, they're so cute!" pleaded Ino.

"You can, I don't want to. It's too troublesome for me," said Shikamaru, rejecting the offer.

"Pretty please with cherry on top?" Ino begged him, giving him her puppy look.

"I already said no Ino," responded Shikamaru.

"Please please please!" begged Ino, whining like a little kid.

"I'll do it if you shut up," said Shikamaru.

"Yay thank you, you're the best!" Ino said happily, giving him a hug.

* * *

"Come an eat you beautiful swans," shouted Ino, throwing the food towards the seven swans.

Ino continued to feed the swans while Shikamaru just sat at the bench watching her. They continued to do this until it became dark outside.

"Wow it's cold," shivered Ino, rubbing her arms.

"We should be heading back home by now," responded, realizing that it was night time already.

"It should really be could for the swans," Ino said with worry. Suddenly she came up with a brilliant plan, "I'll bring them home for the winter so they could have a toasty warm place to say."

"That's not the best idea. It'll just make thugs worse for them. This is their habitat and you can't just take them away from it," he said, shunning her ideas down. "Plus, the water isn't as cold as you think it is. It is actually warmer in there than it is out here. Because throughout the summer time, it collects the heat from the sun and conserves it and by winter the water continues to stay warm."

"Thank you Albert Einstein for that detailed scientific explanation," Ino said sarcastically.

Then the two started to head off home ending their day.

"Can you stop by my place before we go to the pet store. I have the morning shift in the flower store and it's the most boring shift," asked Ino once they reached her house.

Shikamaru really wanted to sleep in, but he knew his mother would probably wake him up early. Reluctantly he nodded his head, "Sure I'll come by in the morning."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Shikamaru is becoming whipped and they aren't even together yet, poor boy. To be honest, I don't think I would ever feed swans, or birds actually. But kudos to you if you would!**

**I decided to show Ino's soft side at the beginning of this chapter.**

**How was it? You like? I'm sorry that it's so short. **

**Thanks for reading, review please! And Merry Christmas!**


	9. Chapter 9: Day 8

**Summary: **Because of Ino, Shikamaru also has to volunteer at the pet store. Taking care of dogs is well...troublesome.

**Pairings:** ShikaIno friendship

**Disclaimer: **I do not own.

* * *

Chapter 9: Day 8

_On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eight maids-a-milking, seven swans-a-swimming, six geese-a-laying, five gold rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree._

The bell rang above the door of the Yamanaka Flowers shop. Ino turned around cheerfully ready to greet the person that just came in, "Good morning and wel- oh it's you."

"That's nice way to greet me. What if I was a customer? Wouldn't I needed to be treated the same way as everyone else?" Shikamaru asked her, fooling around. "But hello to you too. So how's business?"

"Pretty good for the morning, a little busier than usual," answered Ino. "But of course, it's still boring as usual."

"Is there anything you need me to do?" asked Shikamaru, feeling awkward just standing in the middle of the store.

"Nothing really," Ino shrugged her shoulders, not being able to think of anything important.

Awkwardness drew over them and the room went silent. Time was passing by real slowly as both teenagers did nothing.

"Why don't you watch TV?" questioned Shikamaru, spotting the television in the corner of the room and tried to stop the awkward silence.

"I did earlier, but there's nothing interesting. The most interesting is some documentary about a farm," Ino told him.

"Better that than nothing," said Shikamaru, turning on the TV and flipped the channels until he got to the documentary. "See? Look how interesting this is."

"You got to be kidding me. It's a documentary about a farm," Ino said again, trying to point out that it was boring.

"It's very informative. It shows the different jobs done on a farm. Without them you wouldn't have half the things you need," Shikamaru stated. "Did you know that without primary jobs there won't be secondary or tertiary jobs?"

"Oh yeah, like those milking people are actually to my benefit," Ino said sarcastically, not believing what he said.

"Do you drink milk? Have any dairy products? Do you bake?" Shikamaru interrogated Ino.

She nodded her head yes to every question Shikamaru asked her.

"Well then, those 'milking people' -" Shikamaru said, adding air quotes around those two words. "- are a big contribution to your life. And by the way, they are milking maids."

"It must be easy to do that, all you have to do is squeeze and pull the utter," Ino said, analyzing what was happening in the documentary.

"Trust me it isn't. Half the battle is feeding them properly. If you don't feed them, then you won't have any milk," explained Shikamaru. "Look at those eight woman, they must be exhausted everyday doing this for us. And we're here complaining about the simplest things in life. We should really learn to appreciate the things we have. Because once they're gone, that's when we realize they mean the most to us..." **(1)**

* * *

"Aw, look at those cute puppies!" cooed Ino, looking at the dogs for sale when she entered the store. "Just looking at their cuteness makes me want to have one."

"They'd be too troublesome," complained Shikamaru, thinking about all the care a dog needs.

"But if you would want one, would you want a girl or boy?" questioned Ino. "I'd prefer a boy."

"Definitely a girl for me. But she would be too troublesome, especially when she's on her period," responded Shikamaru. "Imagine it, the dog is just going to be running around the house with blood coming out everywhere; you won't be able to put anything to prevent it from flowing."

"You could have someone to remove her ovaries so that won't happen," pointed out Ino.

"That's just wrong, I disagree completely. I think it's unethical. What happens if someone removed your ovaries? How would you feel?" questioned Shikamaru, telling Ino to put her shoes into the dog's.

Ino thought about it for a moment, "Then I guess it's wrong, and it's like animal cruelty. No wonder you think dogs are troublesome."

"Ah you're here," exclaimed the employee of the pet store from yesterday. "Come with me, I'll show you where you will be working today." He guided them to the back of the store where it was an area which owners brought their dog to be pampered. "You will be responsible for one dog each and depending on what the owner wants you will have to fulfill that desire."

"How will we know what to do? Let's say how to wash the dog?" questioned Shikamaru, unaware the steps of taking care of a dog.

"For whatever you are doing, there will be an employee to guide you and help you do this," answered the worker, then he showed them which dog they were liable for. "Here are the dogs, the Scottish Terrier is Benji and the Yorkie is Daisy. You choose which one you want to look after. And here is the list of what to do." He gave them a sheet of paper and left them to fend for themselves.

"Now what should we do?" wondered Ino, starring at the paper. It had so many tasks to complete and Ino was lost and had no idea what to do.

"Why don't we feed them first? If they don't want to eat, then it means they probably ate earlier and we could do something else from there," said Shikamaru. He left to find some dog food and bowls for Daisy and Benji. Shortly, he came back with the supplies needed. Shikamaru set up the bowls with food and sure enough from what he thought, the dogs didn't eat anything. "Why don't we take them out for a walk? I'm pretty sure they didn't have one this morning yet."

The two went outside for Daisy and Benji's morning walk. It was pretty chilly outside and they were all bundled up, even the dogs were dressed up for the weather.

"This is really new to me, the first time I've ever took a dog for a walk," confessed Ino. "I feel like I'm going to mess up in some way."

"Don't worry too much, I've done this before with my cousins," Shikamaru reassured her.

"Oh my gosh! What happens if Daisy or Benji need to go? Don't we need a bag or something?" Ino freaked out.

"I came prepared, I have a few bags with me," Shikamaru told her.

"Oh good," Ino let out a deep breath. "Can you be the one to pick it up?"

"Do I look like a popper scooper to you?" Shikamaru questioned her, arching an eyebrow looking at her as if she went mad.

"No," Ino sighed in defeat.

"Exactly, so I'll pick it up when Daisy goes and you pick it up when Benji goes," said Shikamaru.

* * *

"Ew ew ew ew ew!" exclaimed Ino, trying to pick up the droppings Benji left for her. "This is so nasty!"

"It's not my fault that you wanted to volunteer to take care the dogs," said Shikamaru. He was on the verge of laughing at her, but he composed himself and just smirked.

"I didn't know I was going to be doing this!" stated Ino, still trying to make an attempt on picking up the mess.

"What did you think taking care of dogs had to deal with? Just playing with them all day?" wondered Shikamaru.

"Of course not! I just thought I wouldn't be doing this," said Ino, still feeling disgusted. "Ew this is gross."

"Here give me the bag," Shikamaru snatched the bag from Ino's hand. With ease, he picked up the mess and tied the bag. "Now was that so hard?" questioned Shikamaru, holding the bag up to her face.

"Ew get that thing away from me," Ino pushed the bag away from her face.

After the walk, the two went back to the pet store to give the dogs a wash.

"This should be much easier!" Ino smiled confidently, knowing she won't mess up this time.

Shikamaru got the proper shampoo for the dogs and one by one they gave them a bath.

"Who would like to take a bath first?" Ino asked the dogs, as if she was talking to a child.

Shikamaru didn't wait for a response and took Benji to the bathtub. "It's not like they would ever answer you," he told her once he saw her expression.

Ino huffed and helped him washing Benji.

Benji wasn't difficult to wash or dry, it happened to be Daisy to cause a lot of problems for the two. It turned out Daisy didn't like water and tried her best from having water come in contact with her fur. She constantly barked every time they tried to wash her.

"Ugh stupid dog, why can't you stay still and let us wash you?!" complained Ino, getting more frustrated by the minute.

"Don't talk like that to Daisy," said Shikamaru, covering the dog's ear. "She could understand you."

"If she could understand me than she should know that I want her to suck up this fear so I could give her a bath!" Ino yelled at the dog.

Ino's voice petrified Daisy and the dog quivered and reluctantly allowed the two to give her a bath.

Shikamaru sighed and shook his head. He took a mental note to never provoke Ino and that she has the same personality as his mother.

Because Daisy never liked water, right after her bath, she shook herself causing the water to spray everywhere.

"Stupid dog," Ino muttered, glaring at Daisy, wiping off a drip of water on her face.

After, Shikamaru and Ino fed the dogs while they ate their lunch at the same time. When they finished, they played with Daisy and Benji.

"Catch the ball Benji!" shouted Ino, throwing the ball across the room. Benji ran and came back to Ino with the ball in his mouth. "Good boy!" Ino smiled, holding her hand out while the dog placed the ball there. "Ew it's wet, gross!"

"Of course it would be wet, if came from his mouth," smirked Shikamaru. "You should have taken it out of his mouth yourself."

This time when Ino thew the ball and received it, she made sure to take it out herself.

The two preformed a lot of tricks with the dogs and tried to teach them new ones, they were having so much fun they didn't even realize how many hours passed by.

"The owners are here to pick up their dog," said the employee, coming into the room to let Shikamaru and Ino know.

"What already?" questioned Ino.

"That's what you get when you are having fun," said the employee. "For your generosity, here is a token of our appreciation," giving them two wrapped gifts and left to return the dogs tightly rightful owner.

Outside the pet store, Ino and Shikamaru started to walk back home and Ino opened her gift. "Oh chocolate!" exclaimed Ino, eating a piece.

"How much do you like chocolate?" wondered Shikamaru.

"A lot," said Ino, savouring the treat. "But it's so bad for my figure, that's why I don't let myself eat a lot."

"There's nothing wrong with you Ino," Shikamaru told her. "Eat as much chocolate as you want, it won't affect you in anyway."

"Aw you're so sweet Shikamaru," cooed Ino, giving him a hug.

"Troublesome woman," muttered Shikamaru, pushing her off him. "I'm just stating the truth, that doesn't make me sweet."

Ino smiled to herself, knowing that even though he wasn't lying, it was still sweet of him to say that.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Wow, am I really behind schedule...**

**(1)- Keep this statement in mind, it comes in handy for the future chapters.**

**So how was your Christmas?**

**Thanks for reading and review! **


	10. Chapter 10: Day 9

**Summary:** Just when things are going perfectly well for Shikamaru and Ino, something (in this care someone) must always mess up and ruin everything.

**Pairings: **ShikaIno friendship

**Disclaimer:** I do not own.

* * *

Chapter 10: Day 9

_On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, nine ladies dancing, eight maids-a-milking, seven swans-a-swimming, six geese-a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree._

Ino knocked on Shikamaru's house door impatiently waiting to see him.

"Oh good morning Ino! I didn't know you were going to stop by today, Shikamaru didn't tell me," said Yoshino, opening the door allowing Ino in.

"That's okay, I didn't tell him I was going to stop by. I came by to know if Shikamaru is busy today," Ino told Yoshino. "It's the day before we go see The 10 Lords and I want to stop by the theatre to see if anything special is going to happen today."

"Oh well then he's in his room right now, he should be up by now," mentioned Yoshino, addressing her where the stairs were.

"Thank you!" said Ino as she ran up the stairs. She easily found his room because on the door there was a sign that said: Shikamaru's room. Ino was about to knock on the door, but changed her mind and wanted to surprise him. "Surprise!" she exclaimed, opening the door to find a boy sleeping. Frustrated that he was not awake, she decided to play a little game.

Ino knew that every person should always be prepared for the unexpected. But a person asleep will never be prepared for this, so this is where Ino's game came in. Since Shikamaru was sleeping even though he should have been awake by now, she decided to give him a makeover.

Ino grabbed a black marker she found on his desk and slowly approached Shikamaru to draw a mustache above his upper lip.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Shikamaru grabbing Ino's wrist with the marker an inch away from his face still with his eyes closed.

"H-how did you know?" stuttered Ino, she was taken back that he caught her.

"Like anyone could sleep with all the ruckus you made. You are such a heavy walker and a breather as well!" Shikamaru told her, yawning as he stretched in bed.

"You could hear all that? Are you that really much of a light sleeper?" Ino said in surprise. She did not take herself as a heavy walker, nor a heavy breather!

"Yeah that's the reason why I always want to catch up on my sleep," Shikamaru explained why he was always tired in the past. "Now get out."

"How nice of you to treat a guest," said Ino, clearly offended and not wanting to leave.

"Well do you want to see me get dressed?" questioned Shikamaru, arching an eyebrow, wondering if she was a closet pervert.

"I'll see you downstairs!" Ino ran out the door.

Shikamaru finished changing and came downstairs to see Ino sitting on the couch, "What do you want?"

"What do you mean?" Ino asked him, not understanding him.

"There's got to me a reason why you cane to my house," explained Shikamaru.

"I want to stop by the theatre today to see if anything special for The 10 Lords is happening today," Ino answered his question.

"What exactly is The 10 Lords?" wondered Shikamaru. Sure he read a book about it in the library, but it wasn't clear about what it was.

"It's a musical!" Ino exclaimed happily.

"...About 10 Lords?" guessed Shikamaru, wondering what kind of play would be about 10 Lords.

"No silly, it's a musical about two people with opposite personalities establishing a romantic relationship," Ino told him, day dreaming about the play.

"Then why is it called The 10 Lords?" asked Shikamaru, not understanding where the title came from.

"Because the play was originally written by ten profound writers," responded Ino.

"By the way, how long is it?" wondered Shikamaru, hoping it was really short.

"Only four hours long," said Ino.

Shikamaru's eyes widen at the length of this musical. But he composed himself and smiled at her. "What did I get myself into? Troublesome mother, troublesome play," he murmured.

* * *

Ino gasped at her sight. She was so happy that she planned to come to the theatre the day before the play opened. "Look at all the actors, actresses, dancers, and singers!"

"Yeah so?" Shikamaru said, not seeing how important these people are.

"These are almost famous people!" emphasized Ino. "I would love to be in their shoes. I want to pursue a career as an actress; that's what I most love."

"Then you should do it if you could dedicate a lot of effort and hard work," mentioned Shikamaru.

"I am, but it's kind of hard because there aren't many opportunities for acting here," said Ino. "But I try my best to get involved in and kind of acting performance. If acting doesn't work out, I'll try to find a back up plan to fall onto."

"Well, to help you with your acting career, let's talk to the people here," suggested Shikamaru, this time being the one to drag her.

They went up to a group of nine ladies dancing, rehearsing one of the scenes of a play.

"Hi I'm Shikamaru Nara. And this is my friend Ino Yamanaka," Shikamaru introduced themselves to the nine dancers. "We came today just to take a look at the theatre the day before the play The 10 Lords shows. We were hoping that you're part of that show."

"As a matter of fact, we are. How can we assist you?" said the first lady.

"Besides a dancer, are you also part of the play because you have a specific acting role?" Shikamaru asked the ladies, pretending that he was the one interested in acting.

"I do, I just have a small role being one of the friends," answered the second lady. "Originally I just wanted to audition for a dancer, but I decided to audition for a role so I could do both acting and dancing."

"Was it hard for you to come into the acting world?" wondered Shikamaru, specifically asking this for Ino.

"Not really. You just need to know the right people and know where to go. Start off with auditions for like advertisements in your local area, then slowly start to go into larger roles. You could even do plays in your community and then go up from there," responded the woman. "I began with plays in the community centre or at the local theatre. After that went to kids parties as a performer doing a show for the kids when I was a teenager, earning money on my own. Then from there I decided to do plays and perform in different places."

"Wow, thank you very much. That really helped my friend here a lot, She's also trying to pursue a career in acting," Shikamaru told the woman.

"Oh really? Why didn't you say so? Would you like to join us in today's special?" she now directed her attention to Ino. "We're going to the retirement home nearby and we're going to show them a short play. It's just that one of your actors is absent today and we need someone to fill in their spot. Would you like to take this role?"

"Y-yes," stammered Ino, not believing this was happening to her.

"Great! Here come with me, and we'll teach you your lines. Even though you have a few lines, it's really important to the play. Without your part, it would seem empty and it's also needed to keep the plot going," explained the lady.

* * *

"All who is going to the retirement home board the bus now! We leave in ten minutes!" said the manager of the production. Everyone hurried into the bus waiting to leave. "Do we have all the props we need?"

"We're missing a box!" shouted one of the actors at the back.

"Can you two get the box?" he asked Shikamaru and Ino who were sitting right in front of him.

Shikamaru grumbled not wanting too, but Ino did not want to upset anyone before her big moment and dragged him back to the theatre.

"You get the box while I hold the door for you," Ino told Shikamaru, waiting for him by the door. Shikamaru went inside to get the box and into patiently stayed by the door.

"Ino? What are you doing here?" asked Sakura, spotting her friend.

"I'm waiting for Shikamaru, he's getting a prop box inside. We're going to the retirement home to do a show," answered Ino.

"Are you serious?! You're an actress; you're going to be famous soon!" Sakura said excitedly.

"Not exactly. I just stopped by the theatre and they needed someone to replace an actress who was absent. I'm just doing this out of my own will," Ino told Sakura.

"So...you're not getting paid?" wondered Sakura.

"Of course not! If I was, then my dad would definitely find out and think that I was being selfish and want money for myself," clarified Ino.

"So tell me exactly why you're doing this?" questioned Sakura.

"Like a week ago my dad and I somewhat got into a fight and he thought that I was too selfish. So now I'm proving him wrong by doing all this volunteer stuff," explained Ino. "Don't worry Sakura, by the end of this Christmas, everything will go back to the way it was."

Shikamaru huffed and passed by Ino without acknowledging any of the girls.

"Sakura I got to go, the bus is waiting for me. I'll talk to you later!" Ino waved good bye to Sakura and chased after Shikamaru. "Shikamaru! Shikamaru!" she shouted, but he just walked forward without turning back.

They both finally met at the bus where Ino was panting very hard. "Wh-why didn't you wait for me? I kept on calling you're name," said Ino taking in heavy breaths.

"I didn't hear you," Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders, not making any eye contact with Ino.

"What's wrong?" Ino asked, noticing that there was something wrong with him.

"Is it true what you said to Sakura?" he wondered.

"About what?" asked Ino.

"About things going back to the ways were before," answered Shikamaru, getting mad at her. "You know what Ino, I actually thought that you were a good person."

"But I am!" Ino pointed out.

"No, no you're not. You're still the same Ino Yamanaka that introduced herself at the gift wrapping place. You're still that selfish girl who only cares about herself. I actually thought that we were real good friends," Shikamaru shook his head in disappointment.

"We are good friends! And I thought you told me that I am much more than what you originally thought of me," Ino reminded him.

"Well you're not. You really fooled me, luring me into thinking that you cared about others. Maybe you might do the same with your dad. So congratulations Ino Yamanaka, you became the actress you always wanted to be," he said.

"Sh-Shika-" stuttered Ino, on the verge of crying.

"Oh and by the way, here's the ticket for The 10 Lords. I don't know about you, but I hate being someone's second choice," Shikamaru said harshly, shoving the ticket into her hands and he went inside the bus.

* * *

The crew concluded their performance at the retirement home receiving a large applause from their crowd.

"Good job everyone," said the leader to all the crew. "Especially you Ino, I'm glad you were able to learn quickly and perform very well. Now I'd like each and every one of you to connect with the people here."

"Shikamaru," Ino called his name softly, desperately wanting to talk to him since he got mad at her.

"What Ino?" he turned around, questioning her harshly.

"I didn't exactly mean what I said to Sakura," said Ino, hoping to make things a lot better.

"Then what did you mean?" questioned Shikamaru.

"I-I don't know," Ino realized. "But I know what I told Sakura was not right. I guess part of me told her that because she wouldn't believe me if she knew that I enjoy volunteering."

"What's so wrong about that? Do you really care about other people's opinion than yours?" Shikamaru spat at her, getting angry that she had no opinion of her own and only wanted to satisfy herself by making people like her in a good way.

"P-please don't be mad at me," Ino said, wanting to cry again. She failed this time and couldn't make things better with him.

"I'm more than just mad at you Ino," Shikamaru said, being honest to her about his feelings. "I feel like I've been betrayed and used. It was like you didn't want to be my friend and had no choice but to befriend me because you need to show your dad you're not selfish."

"I'm sorry," apologized Ino, cringing every time Shikamaru kept on explaining how Ino was wrong.

"It's a little bit late for that. I can't tell if you're acting anymore; maybe your apology isn't true and you just want to get back on my good side," said Shikamaru, leaving Ino. He went up to an old man who was playing chess by himself, "Would you like a partner?"

The old man looked up and smiled, "Sure."

"What are you doing playing chess by yourself? Why don't you play with the others?" wondered Shikamaru as he set the pieces back to their proper positions.

"I did, the first time I came here and I beat them all. But here and there I still play with them, it's just the game isn't much fun if you don't have an opponent who is up or past your standards," answered the elderly.

Shikamaru smirked, understanding exactly what the old man was talking about and how he felt.

The two played one round of chess for a very long time, each taking their precious yet quick time to make a move. It wasn't until Shikamaru got stuck at one part where he didn't know where to move his piece. He did not want the old man to be able to check him, so Shikamaru got into his stance and began to analyze. He thought for a while and successfully planned the next 16 moves that will be played for him to win.

"Checkmate," said Shikamaru, bringing his bishop and knight into position to defeat the old man.

"Ha great job, I haven't had a good game played in such a long time and have someone win against me too!" exclaimed the old man, thinking back to the memory he had. "I wish my son was here to see this game, he would have been surprised to see his old man loose to a teenager."

"You're son plays chess as well?" questioned Shikamaru.

"Of course, I taught him myself," said the old man and then remembering something. "What's your name son?"

"Shikamaru Nara," answered Shikamaru.

"Really? Your name sounds very familiar...oh yes! That's the name of my son's student," responded the old man.

"May I ask what you're son's name is?" wondered Shikamaru.

"It's Asuma, Asuma Sarutobi," the senior said.

"That's my teacher's name!" Shikamaru said in agape. "Wow, small world."

"Yes it is," agreed Sarutobi. "My son has said so much about you, especially when it comes to chess. He always tells how you win and he never seems to come close to winning. And that stance you did, the one where you create a circle with your fingers, you are able to think 100 moves in advance."

"Well he isn't wrong, but I'm still surprised that Asuma-sensei is your son," uttered Shikamaru.

"And I'm surprised that I met the infamous Shikamaru Nara. But Shikamaru, are you good at making decisions in life?" wondered Sarutobi, noticing earlier that he was having an argument with a blond girl.

"I think I am pretty good at making decisions in life," answers Shikamaru, but in reality he wasn't 100% sure. He couldn't recall in his lifetime that he had to make a decision that would affect his life drastically.

"And would you say that you are responsible?" Sarutobi continued to question the boy.

"I guess I am, I am able to clean up my act when things go wrong," responded Shikamaru.

"That's good," commented Sarutobi. "Did you know that life is a game of chess within a game of chess, with an infinite number of chess games built into each other?"

"I never thought of it like that..." Shikamaru said amazed. This wise knowledge was something you could never find in a book, but only within a person.

"There's a reason why I asked if you are responsible and good at making decisions," said Sarutobi, putting back the pieces in their position. "Each game you play is a move on a larger chessboard. That game, in turn, is just a single move somewhere even bigger. There are consequences for your actions. You are responsible, which has to be learned. Everything in your life is your responsibility - caused by your actions. Everything."

Shikamaru and Sarutobi sat there quietly, Shikamaru taking in the information and Sarutobi watching him understand the metaphor.

"Okay everyone, as our time has come, we sadly have to leave," exclaimed the manager of the play.

"We thank you for having us perform and spend the day with you. I could say myself and hopefully for everyone else that I had a great time."

"Thanks for giving me chance to remember my youth," Sarutobi thanked Shikamaru.

"It was my pleasure and thanks for making me realize how much more chess means than just a game," Shikamaru appreciated what Sarutobi has done, it was rare that Shikamaru enjoyed learning and listened without falling asleep.

"If you could, would you like to come tomorrow and play a few more rounds of chess with me?" asked Sarutobi.

Shikamaru had no plans for that day anymore (already giving the tickets back to Ino), "I'd love to, see you tomorrow."

The ride back to the theatre wasn't as fun. Neither Shikamaru or Ino made a move to talk to each other. Shikamaru averted his eyes and just stared outside of the window watching the clouds. Ino kept glancing at Shikamaru hoping he would look at her.

Shikamaru knew every time she looked at him, feeling a presence in his back each time. He knew what Ino wanted, but he wouldn't allow her to receive it.

Ino sat in her seat, the ten minute drive felt like a month's drive. She was bored out of her mind and she just wanted to talk to Shikamaru. Ino hated having this silence, but what she hated more was that now she had to go to a play all by herself. What if she hadn't said what she said to Sakura? What if she just had told Shikamaru from the start about her trying to be selfless? Just what if? Ino had many questions, but no answers...

_Tomorrow is a new day, things will definitely be different_ both teenagers thought to themselves.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Finally! Done this chapter!**

**This one is slightly a bit longer than the other ones, but I hope you like it.**

**Review! **


	11. Chapter 11: Day 10

**Summary:** When life becomes tough and brings you down, all you have to do is just bring yourself back up. But it isn't always that easy, like in this case with Shikamaru and Ino.

**Pairings:** No pairings.

**Disclaimer:**I do not own.

* * *

Chapter 11: Day 10

_On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, ten lords-a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids-a-milking, seven swans-a-swimming, six geese-a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear tree._

"Shi-" Yoshino half way called out to her son, stopping because she didn't want to nag. She watched as Shikamaru got ready to go outside, probably for The 10 Lords.

Shikamaru was happy he got outside without hearing his mother complain; which happened to be very rare. He was glad that she didn't question about the play... or Ino. Shikamaru exhaled a big breath and slouched into position, walking slowly to the bus stop.

He remembered the first time he memorized this city; from the roads to the buildings and to the people. Without doubt, Shikamaru could have walked to the retirement home, but laziness took over him. Shikamaru sat on the bench at the bus stop and stared at the clouds. Before he knew it, the bus had arrived.

Shortly, the bus stopped in front of the retirement home. Shikamaru was happy that he got to spend his day playing chess. At home, his mom would complain about him being inactive and force him to play a sport. And at school, his teachers would constantly give him more work instead of allowing him to play chess whenever he finished the required work. This was a once in a lifetime chance and he was glad that it came to him.

"Hello Shikamaru! I didn't expect you to come this early!" greeted Sarutobi, waving his hand to the young man. "But nevertheless, I'm glad you came today."

"The pleasure is all mine, I'm excited to play another round of chess against you," said Shikamaru, taking a seat in front of Sarutobi who had a chessboard already set up for the two.

Both men right away got into the game, playing intensely as each person carefully analyzed each move that was made. Like last time, Shikamaru won this round against Sarutobi.

"Oh I lost again! I definitely know how my son feels," chuckled Sarutobi. "I was sure that I was going to win."

"You were very close, if I haven't made that last move, you could have won," commented Shikamaru, putting the pieces back into place.

Sarutobi made the first move, moving his pawn forward. "This time I'll win!" he exclaimed, laughing at the same time, enjoying his time with Shikamaru.

* * *

"Where you are going Ino?" Inoichi said, stopping Ino before she could leave the house.

Ino silently cursed to herself and turned to face her father in a happy mood, "Just to the theatre, they're showing The 10 Lords today!"

"I forgot that it was today, are you going alone?" questioned Inoichi. "I thought you said that Shikamaru was going with you."

Ino forgot that she told her father who she was going with. Not wanting to waste more time explaining how Shikamaru was not going with her, she came up with a small lie, "I'm meeting up with him at the theatre. He might be there already, I got to go dad! Bye!"

"Bye?" said Inoichi, confused at just what happened. But he shooed the idea off, thinking that Ino didn't want to be late.

Ino sat in her designated seat in the theatre, waiting for the play to begin.

Ten men presented themselves, all dressed back from the 1600s. Each introduced themselves as a lord and Ino knew right away that they were acting as the lords who wrote the play. The 10 lords had a short skit on how they came up with the play, which Ino found very amusing. When they finished, the men got up and leaped off stage.

Then the curtain closed and the lights dimmed down, the show was starting. Everyone silent down and out came a group of boys, who were dressed to the nines having a conversation about a ball.

Ino watched the play, knowing exactly what would happen in each scene. Ino was a romantic, she found that this story followed the same format like every other romance out there.

There was the rich boy, and there was a poor girl; both had a spark in between them when they attended the ball (in this particular case). Of course, things go wrong because of a third character, the two cannot be together and in the end some miracle happens and they end up as a couple.

But during the show, there was a twist in the plot and things started to go in the opposite direction. There is a war and all the men must fight, separating the main couple. After time, news comes back to the hometown that the rich boy died leaving the girl devastated. She moves on and finds love in another man. Yet, in reality the boy did not actually die and it was another person with the same name as him. War ends and not being able to return home, he stays there for a while meeting a girl very similar to the poor girl. When the boy is able to go back home, he also brings the girl because she is accepted by his parents since she is suitable, being in the same class.

All the different conflicts hyped up Ino's curiosity. She couldn't figure out what will happen and understood why this play was so famous. But sadly to her dismay, the show stopped for a brief intermission.

* * *

Sarutobi moved his rook slowly wondering what happened, "...Checkmate..." He was very surprised that he won, in the previous games Shikamaru always won, but this time the boy didn't. _There's something bothering him_ Sarutobi sensed, but couldn't put his finger on the topic.

"New game?" asked Shikamaru, putting the pieces in position, not caring that he lost.

"...Yeah," said Sarutobi, thinking at the same time what was going on in the teenager's mind.

This game turned out to be an interesting round (mostly for Sarutobi). Like always, Shikamaru won the game and Sarutobi lost. But the tactic Shikamaru used to win was a strange one, one that is rarely to be seen. The boy sacrificed his queen in order to win.

"Why?" wondered Sarutobi. Shikamaru arched an eyebrow and Sarutobi fully explained himself, "Why sacrifice your queen when you could do something else?"

"It was the best way to win in this case. I thought that if I were to continue, then you would have a perfect opportunity to strike and win," answered Shikamaru.

"It's just weird," commented Sarutobi. "From the moment you learn how to play chess, it was always to protect the queen. So it was very odd to see this occur."

"Yeah..." Shikamaru nodded his head, not fully paying attention to Sarutobi.

"Something bothering you Shikamaru?" asked Sarutobi, noticing he wasn't being attentive. "You seem to be out of it, earlier you lost which I thought was impossible."

"There's nothing bothering me. That game I made a mistake while playing messing everything up in the end," reassured Shikamaru.

Sarutobi slowly nodded his head. He knew that Shikamaru wasn't going to bluntly tell him. "Do you know why I find it odd to sacrifice your queen? It's because of the way I extrapolate what a queen would represent in life. It could most likely be similar to a wife or girlfriend or even a very close friend that is a girl. So would you want to sacrifice her even if it means it would be to your benefit?"

Shikamaru remained silent, listening to Sarutobi give him another metaphor on chess.

"In the end, by sacrificing the one you love wouldn't you have to give something up for this to happen? Would regret just overcome the wonderfulness that you receive after winning? It questions me a lot," explained Sarutobi. "Even if things go your way, wouldn't the king just be an army of himself in the end, without the queen, then there really is nothing behind. You know that saying, 'Behind every successful man, there is a woman.'"

* * *

Ino shifted in her seat trying to find a comfortable position. It was very hard, no matter hard she tried, her butt always went numb. If she could just find the right position, then she could last the rest of the play.

The play had gone from it's most interesting point to the most sappiest point. Like said before, Ino was a romantic, but she couldn't stand anything that were extremely sappy.

Ino then smiled, the main characters just made up and were now officially a couple.

"I'm glad," the actress who was playing the poor girl said. "That time when you were out of my life, I felt like there was no reason for me to live. And when I heard that you died, I wanted to die as well."

The boy held her hands and listened to her, showing that he is there for her.

"There was no reason for me to continue living. You were the one that gave me the strength I never had, it allowed me to be a greater person and fight for what I believe in," the girl continued to talk.  
Ino started to have a weird feeling in her stomach, like it had just been turned upside down.

_"You are constantly by my side and never left me."_

Ino looked to her right, the seat was empty. She remembered that it was suppose to be Shikamaru's spot. She reminisced how that came to be; it was Shikamaru was there when Sasuke rejected her.

_"You always know how to amuse me."_

Monkey...the one nickname Ino had ever received from a boy, namely Shikamaru.

_"You understand me better than anyone else, including myself."_  
Shikamaru already knew who I was and the kind of person I was before I introduced myself.

_"You made me a much better person."_

He made me do things I would have never thought of doing in my lifetime. I read to a group of kids, participated with the turtle doves, and helped others out of my own will.

_"I feel like it may be sudden to hear, but I think I love you."_

Ino bit her lip, stopping it from quivering so much. She was nearly on the verge to cry. Ino needed Shikamaru, because of this, she couldn't live her life without him.

* * *

Shikamaru shifted in his chair, feeling unease at the metaphor Sarutobi gave.

Sarutobi wasn't a blind man and noticed this, "What's wrong?"

"I just got into a fight with this girl yesterday and I kind of told her to get out of my life," explained Shikamaru.

"Was it the girl you were talking to yesterday? The blond one," questioned Sarutobi.

"Yeah her..." Shikamaru said quietly, feeling quite troublesome having to deal with the after affect of the argument.

"Is she you're girlfriend?" Sarutobi asked out of curiosity.

"No, just a friend, a really good one though," answered Shikamaru.

"She must have been, she looked really hurt when you were talking to her yesterday," said Sarutobi.

"Sarutobi-san, what should I do?" Shikamaru asked for help.

"I can't really tell you anything because I believe that you could make the choice on your own and it would be better than what I tells you," advised Sarutobi. "Remember what I said the other day, to be good at chess means to be good at making life decisions. Think about it, I'm sure you'll know what to do."

"I'm sorry, but I should be going now," apologized Shikamaru, getting ready to leave.

"I understand, do not make her wait long, she won't wait on you forever," Sarutobi responded, giving a small yet useful advise.

Shikamaru went back home to be able to retreat to his room and think what to do with Ino. He was greeted by his mother who seemed to be in a very joyful mood, which was very odd.

"How was the play?" asked Yoshino, practically dancing around the kitchen.

Shikamaru had forgotten that it was today and that his mom supposedly thought that he was going with Ino. "I didn't go," Shikamaru told his mom, being ready to face the consequences.

"Why?! Ino really wanted to go with you," frowned Yoshino.

"She should have asked me herself and before Sasuke," said Shikamaru.

"Ino was going to, but you didn't seem the type to like it and she didn't want to beg you to go like she always has to. You also told her Sasuke liked it, so she thought that instead of asking someone who doesn't like it, it would be better to ask the other boy," explained Yoshino.

Shikamaru felt guilty and didn't respond back to his mom. He left the conversation and went to his room to think about what everyone said to him.

* * *

Ino walked slowly as she kicked a pebble on her way home after the show finished.

_"I feel like I've been betrayed and used. It was like you didn't want to be my friend and had no choice but to befriend me because you need to show your dad you're not selfish." _

She couldn't believe that he now felt this way about her. Because of all the days they spent together, Ino really liked volunteering her time. It always seemed to warm her heart and better things would happen to her.

Suddenly, she remembered what her dad told her from the start.

_"If you don't get your act straight, in the future people will stop liking you. And because of your greed, people will stop loosing trust and stop being nice to you."_

She couldn't believe that 'those people' was Shikamaru. She really messed up big time, loosing a good friend was not something she looked forward to. Ino had to fix this mess and she had to do it quick, but how?...

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Here is chapter 11! Two more to go and it's done.**

**Okay so I am almost done writing chapter 12, so expect it by this weekend! **

**Thanks for reading and review! **


	12. Chapter 12: Day 11

**Summary: **It's the chase of a lifetime. Who will find the other first? Ino or Shikamaru?

**Pairings: **ShikaIno

**Disclaimer: **I do not own.

* * *

Chapter 12: Day 11

_On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eleven pipers piping, ten lords-a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids-a-milking, seven swans-a-swimming, six geese-a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree._

After a whole night of thinking, Shikamaru believed he knew what he had to do. He did wish that he got advise from Sarutobi, even if it was small one, it would have been very helpful. But he was still proud that he was able to come up with something; with this decision, he left home and began his search for Ino.

Moments later, Ino arrived at Shikamaru's house. Yoshino answered the door and was surprised to see the young girl, "Ino! What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see Shikamaru," answered Ino, hoping he was there.

"I'm sorry, but he just left the house and I'm afraid that I have no idea where he went," apologized Yoshino. "I also want to apologize that Shikamaru didn't go with you yesterday to see The 10 Lords."

"Oh don't worry, it was kind of my fault that he didn't go. You shouldn't be the one to apologize for him," said Ino. "I guess I should be going now."

"Try looking at places he would most likely be at, I'm sure you'll find him there," advised Yoshino.

* * *

Shikamaru was sitting on a bench in front of the store that held the volunteering to wrap presents. It was a place that gave him joy and peace. It was also the place where he got to have a face to face, full out conversation with Ino.

_"Wait, what are you doing here, I thought you were lazy," Ino pointed out._

_"True, I love wrapping presents," Shikamaru admitted._

_"That's a lame hobby. We need to get you a new one," said Ino._

Shikamaru agreed that it was a lame hobby, but it was not a troublesome hobby and that's what he loved most about it. He didn't need to use any strength or any of his brain muscles to wrap a present. It just happens naturally. He sat there thinking about how wrapping presents was the best feeling ever. That feeling was topped when he taught Ino and she became very interested in it.

He sighed, with a smile upon his face. Shikamaru got up and started to leave, knowing that he would never find Ino here. She probably hated it because it didn't show her skills and she couldn't be the best at it.

Ino ran as fast as her legs can take her to the mall, she remembered that Shikamaru's favourite hobby was wrapping presents. It was lame then, and it's still lame now.

Ino remembered the first time she wrapped a present, it was hideous! But because of Shikamaru, she learned how to make one that looked decent.

She always thought she was able to do everything right the first time, but that day proved her wrong. She became reliant to others and understood that in life interaction is key concept.

Ino had so much fun without being selfish. Everyday you always learn something new.

It was the first step to becoming selfless. Ino really did understand what her dad told her.

Though this place brought back many memories, she had to find Shikamaru and she ran off to another place.

* * *

Shikamaru walked into the community centre and saw the enormous Christmas tree he and Ino helped to decorate.

It was the centrepiece of the building. The Christmas tree wasn't over-decorated, nor was it plain. It did what it was suppose to do; showcase the holiday, showoff its beauty, and show the true meaning of Christmas. So basically, just being the centre of attention.

The two spent quite a while at the community centre. Maybe it was two days...or three, he couldn't be sure. So many things occurred during that time; the random boy, the huge amount of decorating, and the chickens...

The community centre was big itself, with its high ceiling, one large open concept, and so many room that you were unable to keep count. It didn't feel like much of a community centre, it seemed more like a mall. But the fact that there were so many interacting activities that happened, there was a sense of a community. It really did a good job of bringing the city together and making everyone happy.

He sighed after walking the whole area of the building. Shikamaru couldn't find Ino, and left the building and continued on his search.

Ino smiled at the beautiful tree in front of her. She was happy, this was the day where Ino's skills came in handy.

_"Wow, it's beautiful," she adorned the tree, watching the lights shine bright._

_"That's what you get when you put all your hard work into something, the end results are the best," mentioned Shikamaru._

This was her hobby, her lame hobby.

It was funny how they both had the lamest hobbies but neither of them cared what it was. Just spending time together mattered the most. Most of the people who she normally spent time with would make fun of her for having such a lame hobby. Ino always tried to fit with the in-crowd and to make sure everyone liked her all the time.

But Shikamaru was different, he didn't care that she enjoyed decorating Christmas trees. As long as it pleased her, then he was fine with it.

Shikamaru was such a good friend to Ino and she was disappointed that she lost him. Ino then realized that the community centre wasn't exactly the place where Shikamaru would go.

* * *

Now this, is somewhere Shikamaru would go; the bookstore.

Ino walked around the colossal book store, amazed at the number of books present.

This was the first time she heard about Rumpelstiltskin and short man who came to those who bragged and lied.

Ino wondered if Rumpelstiltskin was going to visit her; she always bragged and lied causing her friendship. Ino wouldn't be surprised if he did visit, she deserved it.

Shikamaru sat down and started to read a book: "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". It was probably the fiftieth time he read it, yet every time he read it, he fell in love with it even more. It included society issues, played with your feelings well, and included the most interesting adventures that every boy would enjoy, love, and never forget.

_"I love that the world's knowledge is within a short distance from me," answered Shikamaru. "Even though everything may be on the Internet, it is nothing compared to the books. With the Internet, as long as you have the idea, you'll be able to gain knowledge on it; otherwise it becomes useless. Unlike books, you could have never thought of it, but when you see the book, you could easily know."_

Shikamaru remembered the first time he went to the book store with Ino. Ino's love for the mall would be equalled to Shikamaru's love for the book store. The mall had an endless amount of clothes to sell and the book store had an endless amount of books to read. The amount of knowledge a person could gain is incredible. But Shikamaru had to find Ino, so he left the book store knowing she wouldn't want to be in a place where books were.

* * *

The two were walking, not together, but on complete different sidewalks and on different streets. Then they saw four birds on the road as they quietly laughed to themselves.

_"Those are called calling birds, or colly birds, or just simply common birds," explained Shikamaru._

_"Thanks Mr. Smart Alec," Ino said sarcastically._

* * *

Shikamaru walked into the thrift shop. He suddenly shuddered at the horrible vivid memory of the outfit Ino made him wear. Ino was always up to date with the latest fashion, so making him wear the most hideous outfit was no problem for her.

Not wanting to spark up this bad memory, or see someone who remembers him as the teenager who had no sense in style; Shikamaru quickly left the store to find Ino at some other place.

After, Ino arrived at the thrift shop. She strolled around the store, gazing at the items on display. Ino came across the dress Shikamaru said she should wear to prom. A blush came across her face along with the memory that came with it.

_"Sure at first people would comment what your wearing, but they'd forget about it. Your beauty is radiant and it overpowers the ugliness of this dress. Pretty much what I'm saying is that you could wear anything and you'll look good in it," Shikamaru explained himself._

_Ino was shocked at his response. It touched her heart. Sure she knew she was pretty, but the way Shikamaru said it, it was the nicest thing anyone has said to her..._

_Ino gave him a big bear hug, like said before, it's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to her, "Thank you."_

_The cashier lady coughed at the two, waiting for them to place their items. They turned to tomatoes at their gesture and placed their items in the conveyor belt._

Ino smiled as she laughed to herself remembering the embarrassing moment. Just for the fun of it, Ino bought the dress. Then she left not seeing Shikamaru anywhere.

* * *

Ino continued to search for Shikamaru, she went to his most favourite place, she went to where he could be like him the most, and to places where they had great memories.

Like Ino, Shikamaru couldn't find Ino anywhere. He continued to look for her and while doing this, he passed by Sasuke's house.

_Shikamaru gave her a hug, a reassurance that someone was there for her. It was an awkward hug though. He wasn't the type of person to comfort and she wasn't the type of person to cry. But I guess in the end, Ino didn't really care and he just wanted to be a good friend._

Shikamaru suddenly remembered where to find Ino and knew exactly the place she would be.

* * *

Ino laid on the bench in front of the pond behind the community centre. She watched to same swans from last time swim around.

_"Actually, it was more of a secret get-away and it was a secret place I went to that my dad never knew about," Ino rephrased her statement. "Instead of going home and dealing with my dad, I'd be here and reflect on life. If I didn't see you yesterday, I would have gone here."_

This was her place, and this time she was thinking where to find Shikamaru. Who knew looking for him was going to be so hard? She went to every place she thought she would find him. It was frustrating, but Ino couldn't give up. There was still one more place that she hasn't gone to yet. Ino stood up and departed.

Shikamaru followed the trail that lead himself to the pond.

He knew Ino had to be there, that's where he went when he needed time alone. Shikamaru knew she was feeling hurt and this would be the proper place to go. Shikamaru laid down on the bench and gazed the clouds in the sky. Something told him that Ino had been there already and he had just missed her. He sighed and got up and left to continue to find Ino.

* * *

Ino stood in front of the pet shop and really hoped that Shikamaru was there. She saw a dog owner and its dog come out of the store, a Scottish terrier. It was the same breed that she took care of and remembered when she took Benji on a walk.

_"Ew ew ew ew ew!" exclaimed Ino, trying to pick up the droppings Benji left for her. "This is so nasty!"_

_"It's not my fault that you wanted to volunteer to take care the dogs," said Shikamaru._

Ino shuddered at the disgusting vivid moment. She would never want to be in that situation again so she left the building to save herself. Taking care of dogs was not her thing and she was pretty sure that Shikamaru wasn't a fan of it either.

Ino was right, Shikamaru wasn't a fan of taking care of dogs. They required a lot of maintenance, keeping an eye on, cleaning, feeding, and to sum it all up, it was troublesome. Shikamaru held a lot of respect for those who owned a pet, he wouldn't have been able to picture himself taking care of a pet unless if it weren't for Ino.

Shikamaru sat down on the bench in front of the pet store. He couldn't find Ino anywhere and he was ready to give up. Where would a girl like Ino go?

He went to the place where they met the first time, all her favourite places, her secret place, and all the places she would hate.

So where could she be? Shikamaru decided to give up and head home.

Home.

That was it! Shikamaru realized that he didn't go to Ino's house yet. This would be the first place anyone would go to search for a person. And people called him a genius, which made no sense to him.

The most basic logic to find a person is their home, but Shikamaru went to the most random places. He would have been able to save tons of time, and not to mention energy.

Shikamaru quickly ran (actually it was more like walking at a normal pace, but it's still faster than usual) to Ino's home. Instead of Ino opening the door, it was her father, Inoichi.

"Oh hi Shikamaru, I didn't expect you to come today," Inoichi said in surprise. "If it's Ino you are looking for, she's not home right now. Sorry for the inconvenience."

"No it's okay, I should have known. Do you know where she is?" asked Shikamaru.

"No, she left the house quickly without telling me. But I suppose she would be downtown," said Inoichi.

"Ah thank you, I'll be going now!" Shikamaru bid farewell.

Shikamaru made his way downtown, the heart of the city. This is where everything occurred; all the festivals, work, and drama. It made sense as to why Ino would be found there. Shikamaru was glad that he didn't have a long walk to go through. He was exhausted from moving all day and he just wanted to find Ino desperately.

It was beautiful, there were so many different colour lights illuminating the mighty sky. All the Christmas decoration was set up; along with the colossal Christmas tree in the centre which everyone seemed to adore. There were so many entertainers, from carolers to musicians to skaters. But of course, the one Ino loved the most were those that were selling merchandises.

Ino browsed through all the items on sale. Usually shopping would satisfy her, but not this time. She felt real lonely and upset. Today was an unsuccessful day, she was unable to find Shikamaru to apologize. All Ino kept thinking to herself the many possibilities why she couldn't find him, but one stuck out to her and it was the chance that he avoided her the whole time.

Ino gave up. It was dark, and she was hungry and tired. Ino decided that it was best to go home. She made her way down the street passing by a crowd. Though she couldn't help herself but notice the most unique hair silhouette.

A pineapple...

Throughout her life she had only got to know one pineapple head. Ino quickly ran towards the pineapple head, yet suddenly she lost it and no longer could find it.

Shikamaru became frustrated. How was it possible that all the blonds were gathered together at this very moment? Was there some kind of day that all blonds must come and unite?

He already had enough trouble searching for Ino all day - even though it was very unnecessary. Now, Shikamaru had to face a greater challenge. Why was life taunting him? He never did anything bad; okay maybe he, but that wasn't a crime! He never went against his parents; well there were a few times he didn't do his chores. He never swore; just only swore under his breath. He never used violence as a way to solve anything; only once he threw a chess piece at his cousins to stop their annoyance, but it was by accident.

Sure overall Shikamaru contradicted each statement, but nevertheless, there was no reason as to why life should be doing this to him. Today the only thing he wanted to do was apologize to Ino. Clearly, that was not going to happen. Troublesome.

A group of carolers were gathered together singing _We Wish You a Merry Christmas_ with a background music of eleven pipers. It was beautiful, like angels singing from above. They really brought the Christmas spirit!

_We wish you a Merry Christmas._

It didn't seem like a merry Christmas was going to happen for Ino.

_We wish you a Merry Christmas._

It didn't seem like a merry Christmas was going to happen for Shikamaru.

_We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year._

Nor a happy New Year.

_Good tidings we bring to you and your kin._

What kin? If they weren't able to apologize to each other, the holidays will be a lonely time as compared to the past 10 days.

_Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year._

Neither Christmas or New Year will be the best without the other person. The two, Shikamaru and Ino continued to walk, kicking a pebble in front of them. They stopped when another person was blocking their path. Slowly, they looked up to see who was in their way.

"Sh-Shikamaru," Ino stuttered in surprise.

"Ino?" Shikamaru questioned.

"I'm sorry," she said right away, not wanting to hide anything from her.

"No I am," Shikamaru shook his head.

"Stop it, you shouldn't be the one to apologize. I was wrong and you were right. So allow me to explain," Ino begged, feeling really sorry for her actions.

Shikamaru remained quiet, knowing Ino wanted repentance.

"I apologize. I'm so sorry. You don't understand how much I ask for forgiveness," said Ino. "Without you, during that time when we weren't spending every minute together, felt horrible. I felt empty. I felt like I was all alone on this earth... Now I understand why; you are the most important person in my life Shikamaru. You fill up that emptiness and you make my world a better place."

"Thank you Ino, I forgive you. The world would not go around if there wasn't forgiveness," said Shikamaru. "But I'm sorry as well, it was wrong for me to not hear you out."

"Since you forgave me, I think it's my place to forgive you," smiled Ino.

"Aha, thanks Ino," Shikamaru smiled back.

"You know what? Since it's almost Christmas, and I don't really have a gift for you, why don't I try to get you and whoever you like together," stated Ino, ready to play matchmaker.

"Ino, one word for you: impossible," Shikamaru warned her.

"Well, I vow that I will!" exclaimed Ino.

"I guess, thank you Ino; again," smirked Shikamaru.

"Your welcome," said Ino, opening her arms for a hug and gladly Shikamaru accepted.

"...Oh I'm sorry!" said a man who bumped into the two, interrupting their hug. "By the way, look up."

Shikamaru followed the man's instructions and saw the mistletoe. He leaned in, closing in the space between them and gave Ino a peck on the cheek.

"...Um, sorry..." Shikamaru apologized, averting his eyes from Ino. He felt his face burning and knew that it was as red as a tomato.

"You should be!" scowled Ino, "Just a second ago I said I was going to get you and that unknown girl together! Now you're going around kissing other girls. She's going to get mad if she knows about this."

"What makes you say she's going to get mad?" questioned Shikamaru.

"What kind of girl won't get mad if the guy she likes cheats on her?" wondered Ino.

"You! You won't get mad," answered Shikamaru.

Ino blinked, "Okay now I'm lost."

"Ugh, do you really not get it?" Shikamaru rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I like you," Shikamaru said to her very slowly. "You're the girl that I like, that's why I said it was impossible to get us together."

"Oh..." Ino said quietly.

"But I get it if there's some other man who's ten times better than me for your liking. So to spare myself from rejection, I'll leave now," said Shikamaru, turning away.

Ino grabbed his had from leaving and grinned, "Talk about low self-esteem. You didn't even give me the chance to finish what I had to say."

"Fine, go ahead and finish," sighed Shikamaru, ready to get rejected.

"Did you not hear my speech to you from like five minutes ago? I said I couldn't live without you and you are the most important person to me. Did that not give you a hint? And you probably think I'm stupid," Ino told him, as her grin grew larger. She stared into his brown eyes and leaned in against his chest, hugging him as tight as she could. His warm body against her's made her feel safe.

"Hey, let's head back home now," said Shikamaru, leading the way.

* * *

"...I don't have a low self-esteem," Shikamaru stated, recalling Ino telling that to him.

"Yes you do!" Ino argued.

"No I don't," Shikamaru argued back.

"Yes you do! And besides, I thought that was cute how you thought there was another man. Trust me Shikamaru, there's no one like you," Ino linked her arms with Shikamaru, and leaning on his side.

Shikamaru chuckled, "Troublesome woman."

"Hey!"

_We wish you a Merry Christmas_

_We wish you a Merry Christmas_

_We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year_

_Good tidings we bring to you and your kin_

_Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**How was this chapter?**

**One more chapter to go until this story is done! Then I'll quickly finish up Freshman Year. I'm going to cry, I keep saying that I'll finish it, but I never update fast enough. I'm so behind in everything, but I really do hope I will finish all the stories soon! **

**Thanks for reading and review! **


	13. Chapter 13: Day 12

**Summary: **"Because every couple does it," smiled Ino. "So just because we are going we have to do it?" questioned Shikamaru. "No, it's because I just want to spend time with you," confessed Ino.

**Pairings:** ShikaIno

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything.

* * *

Chapter 13: Day 12

_On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, twelve drummers drumming,_ _eleven pipers piping, ten lords-a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids-a-milking, seven swans-a-swimming, six geese-a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree._

"Hi!" beamed Ino, watching her new boyfriend as he woke up.

"What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked, wondering what she was doing in his bedroom.

"Because I want to," Ino smiled, evidently hiding a secret.

"Really? That's not much of a valid reason," question Shikamaru.

"I think it is," she said, still keeping that look on her face.

"Fine whatever," Shikamaru gave up, tired and not wanting to start an argument.

"Go clean up."

"What are you, my mom?"

"No, but when you come down, you better wear something warm."

"Maybe you really are my mom. But seriously, why do I have to dress warm?"

"Secret!" exclaimed Ino, giggling as she ran out of his room.

* * *

"Achoo!"

"I told you to dress warmly!" exclaimed Ino.

"I did, and why are we here at a skating rink?" asked Shikamaru, falling face down right after entering the ice rink.

"Aha! So I can get a good laugh," giggled Ino.

Shikamaru got up, but he fell again, "No seriously, why?"

"Because every couple does it," smiled Ino.

"So just because we are one we have to do it?" questioned Shikamaru.

"No, it's because I just want to spend time with you," confessed Ino.

"...Okay..." said Shikamaru, unsure of what to say to her.

"Well aren't you going to say something nice back?"

"Like what?"

"Oh I don't know; how about something like I also want to spend time with you Ino-the-great, bestest girlfriend in the history of girlfriends," smiled Ino.

"I'll pass," said Shikamaru skating away. "And by the way, bestest isn't a word!"

"That's not what I meant!" pouted Ino, skating towards him.

* * *

Ino stopped skating and turned to face her boyfriend. He cocked an eyebrow and waited for her. Finally she told him what was on her mind, "Let's have a contest."

"Fine, what's the contest?" asked Shikamaru, not wanting to put up a fight.

"Whoever can skate around the rink the fastest wins, the loser must buy both of us hot chocolate," explained Ino.

"That's it?" wondered Shikamaru.

"If you want a bigger stake, then say it," Ino challenged him.

"Nah it's okay, too troublesome," Shikamaru declined.

Ino laughed at his laziness and shook her head, "Alright, on the count of three?"

Shikamaru nodded his head.

"One..."

"Two..."

"...Three!"

The two set off racing each other around the ice rink. After the first turn, Ino was ahead of Shikamaru.

She silently cheered to herself and was excited. Ino knew she was going to be ahead and was kind of hoping on winning, she was in the mood for hot chocolate. Ino knew from the beginning Shikamaru was a horrible skater and was probably too lazy to try to go fast.

As each second passed, Shikamaru trailed even farther from Ino. He needed to devise a plan to win. Going fast wasn't going to work, if he sped up, then he was sure to fall down. Shikamaru needed a way to skate as little as possible, which meant skating closest to the centre. With little perimeter covered, Shikamaru was able to catch up with Ino, overtake her, and win the race.

"B-but how?" stuttered Ino, confused how Shikamaru won.

"Sometimes the simplest route is the best way to go," answered Shikamaru. "Now, I would like one hot chocolate please."

Ino glared at him, stomping away to go and buy the hot chocolate.

* * *

"Here," Ino shoved a cup of hot chocolate into Shikamaru's hand.

"Thank you," said Shikamaru.

Both took a sip of their drink and smiled contently at the warm feeling that went inside of them.

"Gosh, the lights they put up are so beautiful; so fairy like," Ino stared at the Christmas lights hanging from wall to wall.

"Yeah, fairy like..." Shikamaru nodded his head, agreeing that they somewhat looked _fairy like_.

Ino continued to drink from her hot chocolate as she listened to the drummers playing a very familiar song. She couldn't recall the song, but that wasn't her biggest concern right now.

_"If you don't get your act straight, our family could tear apart in the future and people will stop liking you. And because of your greed, people will stop loosing trust and stop being nice to you." _She remembered what her father told her, Ino smiled inwardly silently thanking her father for his advice. If he had never said that to her, she would still be the greedy girl she used to be. Ino was definitely thankful for her father to be there.

Shikamaru looked at Ino as his worries grew. Ino had become too quiet for him and wondered if there was something bothering her. "Ino, you okay?" he asked her.

"Huh?" Ino said, snapping back to reality. "Oh yeah, I'm fine!"

"You sure?" Shikamaru continued to question her.

"Yup! I was just relaxing," answered Ino.

"Oh... I never thought you would be able to do that," said Shikamaru.

Ino giggled and leaned her head on his shoulder, "Merry Christmas Shikamaru."

It was an awkward transition, but Shikamaru accepted it. He would never know what to expect from Ino. "Merry Christmas Ino."

* * *

_The End._

* * *

**Author's Note: **

**It was weird writing a Christmas story during summer...**

**Anyways, finally d-o-n-e! Gosh, it took so long just to finish a 12 chapter fanfic. **

**Now, time to finish everything else...**

**Review, please!**


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